4-yr-old ragpicker attacked by strays

In less than a week after the Karnataka High Court took the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike to task and directed it to take adequate care to prevent dog bite cases in the City, another case was reported on Sunday near Puttenahalli.

Four-year-old Cheluva, a ragpicker, was attacked by stray dogs while he was trying to collect plastic waste from a garbage dump yard at Sarakki Circle near Puttenahalli Lake.

The boy suffered bite marks and scratches on his face, and some bruises on his legs.
According to Dr Parvez Ahmed Piran, the boy was attacked due to territorial aggression where stray dogs attack any person or other strays that enter their territory.

“The boy might have come to pick some plastic from the garbage and the dogs which were present at the dump yard attacked him. Cheluva has been given anti-rabies shots and has been asked to visit Banashankari referral hospital for shots of Rabies Immune Globulin (RIG),” he said.

Cheluva was first taken to Jayanagar General Hospital where his wounds were washed and dressed. He was administered anti-rabies injections at the hospital.

The boy takes care of his mother since she is disabled. BBMP officials said the boy does not have a father or a house to live in. Puttenahalli corporator L Ramesh has come forward to help him.

Dr Piran, who visited the spot, said eight dogs were kept under observation at the Karuna Welfare Animal Organisation to ascertain if they show symptoms of rabies.
Palike officials also found few stray dogs which were not sterilised.

They were taken to the Veterinary Hospital for anti-birth control (ABC) and anti-rabies vaccination (ARV).

PIL in High Court

Just last week, five-year-old Jishnu, along with his mother, had approached the High Court of Karnataka seeking compensation of Rs five lakh from the Palike.

The boy and his mother had filed a public interest litigation (PIL) after Jishnu was attacked by a stray dog in 2010, which left him with a head scalp tear and had to undergo 20 sutures on his head.

Taking serious note of the dog menace, the Division Bench had directed the Palike to pay the compensation. The Palike is in the process of readying the report that is to be submitted to the High Court and officials said it will be ready in the next couple of days.