Two hundred and fifty stray dogs were killed during the last three days in an anti-rabies drive in Srinagar city.
Abdul Rashid Pandit, mayor Srinagar municipal corporation (SMC), said the 10 day long drive started on March 3 and 2,000 dogs are to be killed during the period.

However, unofficial reports said 10,000 dogs would be poisoned during the drive. Pandit denied this. “We have conducted a survey and set a target to kill 2,000 dogs,” he said.

The SMC officials start poisoning the stray dogs after 4 PM. The animals die during the night and their bodies are taken to the neighboureing township of Pampore for burial.

SMC has launched the drive around the two important Muslim shrines of Hazratbal and Makhdoom sahib. “We have been getting reports that the stray dogs are biting the people there and causing inconvenience to them. Subsequently, we had to launch the drive,” said the mayor.

Asked whether this is not a cruel way of solving the problem, Pandit said there is no other option. He added that his corporation does not need the permission from any government authority to kill the dogs.

To a question that such a move can trigger off a controversy since animal activists may not like this, mayor stated that let these activists suggest other effective measures to solve the problem. Dr Riyaz Ahmad, health officer SMC justified the killing of dogs. He added that the dogs have become a big nuisance. Bashir Ahmad, an animal activist, described as unjustified the killing of the dogs. “I and my other colleagues are thinking about moving to the court and stopping the drive,” he said.