Rising dog biting cases

The presence of stray dogs in every nook and corner of Srinagar and elsewhere in the Valley could be gauged with the number of dog biting cases reported at the Valley’s tertiary care hospital. At one of the prominent hospitals in Srinagar, Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) hospital, a total of 3300 dog bite cases have been reported at anti-rabies clinic since April this year, which indicates how the situation going out of the control and how the people are being pushed to the wall by taking no immediate and necessary steps to ensure fear-free movement for the residents in the lanes and bylanes. The claims made by the concerned authorities from time to time have failed to be implemented on the ground, paving way for more dog bite cases, which have even claimed the lives of many people so far as well. The number of stray dogs has not been ascertained, but the process to control the population has always failed as the concerned authorities have shown least interest in achieving the target. Among some initiatives, the dog sterilization process carried out by Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) also failed to bring a fruitful result as the authorities didn’t complete the process as targeted. It is the time when the concerned authorities should look into the matter and come up with some result-oriented initiatives so that the dog biting cases are controlled and the precious lives are saved. The government is duty bound to ensure smooth passage to the local residents in their locality, thus, it is imperative to take some steps in this regard at this juncture.