Stray dog menace: Govt’s efforts lack bite

Vishav Bharti

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 18

Stray dogs bite more than 50 children daily in the state, at times fatally, as in the case of four-year-old Tarn Taran boy Maninder Singh. However, the government’s efforts to control the canine population have come a cropper.

Last year, the government had stated in the Assembly that around 38,000 children were bitten by dogs in the state in the past two years. In rural areas alone, more than 36,000 people were attacked by stray canines during the same period.

The number of dog-bite cases has increased three-fold in the past three years. According to the National Rabies Control Programme (NRCP), around 54,000 cases were reported in Punjab last year.

Health experts say some of these cases are not reported in hospitals. “So, the actual number is much higher,” said Dr Preeti, programme officer, NRCP.

As per the 19th Livestock Census held in 2012, there are more than 3 lakh stray dogs in the state. According to experts, the number is likely to have increased drastically in the past five years as the departments of Local Bodies and Rural Development have largely failed to control the dog population.

The state had initiated the Animal Birth Control Programme a decade ago, but less than 1 per cent of the canines were sterilised.

Last year, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had directed the departments of Rural Development and Panchayats and Animal Husbandry to jointly chalk out a time-bound action plan to deal with the menace, but no progress has been made on this front.

Under a policy framed by the state government in 2013, based on the Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rules, 2001, it was made mandatory for every district to ensure sterilisation of stray dogs. However, its implementation has left a lot to be desired.