Panchkula MC to observe World Rabies Day today

Ishrat S Banwait

tribune News Service

Panchkula, September 27

The Panchkula Municipal Corporation is set to observe World Rabies Day with a walkathon on Wednesday. However, stray dogs still rule the roost in the city.

Though 1,180 case of dog bite have been reported in the first seven months of this year, the MC claims that only 950 of estimated 9,000 stray dogs have been sterilised so far. However, Mayor Upinder Kaur Ahluwalia claimed that as may as 1,130 dogs had been sterilised.

The Municpal Corporation claims of sterilising more than 15 dogs everyday while a similar number of dog bite cases are reported on an average at the Civil Hospital in Sector 6 daily.

Municipal commissioner Lalit Siwach rubbished the dog bite figures. “There are only 3-4 dog bite cases in a month. If the numbers had been this high, there would have been a panic in the city.” According to the available data, 153 people were bitten in July alone.

Residents say the authorities wake up only after a serious incident occurs. Vikrant Vohra, a local resident, said, “Stray dogs are a common sight in the city. In July, 11 people were bitten in a single day after which the authorities swung into action but now they again adopted a lackluster attitude.”

At a meeting held on August 10, District Commissioner Garima Mittal had reportedly asked the MC to conduct a survey to know the exact number of stray dogs in the city. However, the Municipal Commissioner denied that any such direcstion was given. “No such direction was issued by the DC,” added Siwach. The DC remained unavailable for comments.

The MC has engaged a research scholar, Harish Tiwari, for the enumeration of dogs in Panchkula. Tiwari said, “The counting is on and will be completed in a month. Estimates suggest that there are 9,000-10,000 stray dogs in Panchkula.”

The MC will observe the day with a one-hour event that will starts at 8 am in the morning. The event aims at spreading awareness about rabies and the measures needed to take in a dog bite case.