Palike blames garbage menace for rising number of stray dogs

Even as toddler Kumaraswamy was mauled by a pack of stray dogs on Monday morning at JP Nagar 9th Phase, the BBMP blamed the garbage menace for the increasing number of strays in the City.

Joint Director (Animal Husbandry), BBMP, Dr Shivarama Bhat, told Deccan Herald that the only way to reduce stray dog attacks on humans was to tackle the garbage crisis and adopt street dogs. “People should stop feeding stray dogs on roadsides and not dump garbage on streets,” he said.

Bhat said they were implementing the Animal Birth Control (ABC) and Anti-Rabies Vaccination (ARV) programmes effectively in all the wards. “There are three lakh stray dogs in the City and about 80 per cent of them are vaccinated. This year, the NGOs we have tied up with have implemented the ABC in 20 packages. Another 20 packages have been tendered and work is in progress. Each package comprises seven to 13 wards.”

Mayor N Shanthakumari visited the KC General Hospital in the evening and directed the Palike officials to take measures to complete the ABC programme at the earliest. “The parents of the victim should not have left the child alone on the streets and must have been careful,” she said.

Boy shifted to KIMS

The child was taken to a private hospital immediately after the dog bite. The family members alleged that the doctors there did not treat him properly and  extorted Rs 6,000 from them. It was later decided to shift the boy to KIMS. Health Minister U T Khader said that he would direct the hospital authorities to return the money.