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When man's best friend snaps

REALITY BITES: STREET DOG MENACE CUTS ACROSS LOCALITIES, POSH OR UNAUTHORISED
Last Updated 16 August 2015, 03:35 IST

It’s almost been two years but still my ordeal with a pack of mongrels haunts me. To this day, I am scared of walking down the lane alone where I was bit,” says Natasha Martin, whose mother lives in Mayur Vihar Phase-1.

“Whenever I come to visit my mom in Delhi, I find reasons to keep myself off that street and take another route to reach my destination,” adds the NRI.

“These strays can be hired by the administration to prevent people from entering the VIP zones. They will do an incredible job,” mocks her husband Jacob Martin.

Natasha had to be hospitalised and kept under supervision for over a week. “That was because my family and friends couldn’t locate the canine. Doctors wanted to make sure whether the dog had rabies or not. The incubation period for rabies is generally two to 12 weeks and its initial symptoms are mild, so I was kept under supervision for around nine days,” she adds.

The menace of strays cuts across localities in the city – posh societies and unauthorised colonies alike. On August 4, a seven-year-old boy was mauled to death by strays in south Delhi’s Jamia Nagar. The incident underscored the apathy of the administration toward the increasing population of dogs.

The lane where Natasha was bit in October 2013 is notorious for strays, which can be seen barking at passers-by and chasing after vehicles, be it a motorcycle or car.

“One can’t even drive on that stretch, forget about walking on that path. Every now and then we hear people getting bitten by dogs,” says Ramesh Chandra, who has been a resident of Mayur Vihar Pocket-4 for over 30 years. “We have approached civic agencies many times but nothing happens.”

The count of stray dogs in the city runs in lakhs and civic agencies’ sterilisation programmes have failed to produce results. The municipal corporations, however, say paucity of funds, lack of staff and a court ruling that bars relocation of strays are preventing them in their pursuit to curb the menace.

“When we aren’t getting grants to perform even our primary functions like sanitation, how are we supposed to continue with sterilisation of dogs?” says a senior North Delhi Municipal Corporation official. “But still we are managing to carry out sterilisation under the limits of the north civic agency,” he adds.

Officials with the South Corporation say an NGO is given Rs 760 per dog for catching, sterilising, vaccinating and releasing them at the same spot from where they were picked.

The North Corporation claims that over 19,000 dogs were sterilised in the past three years and “possible steps have been taken to prevent dog bites”. According to the official figures of the North Corporation, some 51 people died of rabies and 95,000 cases of dog bites have been reported in the past three years. Last year alone, 24 people succumbed to rabies and 34,635 dog bite cases were reported.

The huge disparity in cases of dog bites and strays being immunised has drawn strong reaction from opposition councillors.

“The BJP-ruled civic agency claims that it has sterilised 19,000 dogs in three years but in that time period the population of dogs has increased. There are 3,000 more dogs on Delhi’s streets,” says Mukesh Goel, Leader of Opposition from Congress. “The civic agency is trying to fool citizens of north Delhi and nothing else,” he adds.

But North Delhi Mayor Ravinder Gupta says 80 per cent of the strays have been caught by the civic agency and handed over to the NGOs for sterilisation. “We are concerned about the alarming number of dogs in north Delhi. We are taking all steps to curb the menace and prevent dog bite or rabies cases,” Gupta adds.

The north civic agency says in a statement, “A total of 1,591 stray dogs have been caught so far and sterilised and given anti-rabies immunisation by NGOs this year.”

The civic agencies say they do not have sterilisation facilities and they have to partner with NGOs for immunisation and sterilisation of strays as per the Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rules 2011 laid down by the central government.

In all, nine NGOs have been roped in by the three municipal corporations to sterilise stray dogs. In addition, the North Corporation has engaged NGO ‘Krishna Ashram’ to expedite its own sterilisation programme.

The NGOs involved in the anti-rabies immunisation programme include Sanjay Gandhi Animal Care, Animal India Trust, Friendicoes Seca, Neighbourhood Woof and Sonadi Charitable Trust.

The North Corporation has cleared the decks to set up its own sterilisation and anti-rabies immunisation centres in Timarpur and Sector-27, Rohini.

“In Rohini, the civic agency plans to build a veterinary hospital and sterilisation centre while it is planning an anti-rabies immunisation centre at an animal pound in Timarpur,” says an official.

The guards at the headquarters of municipal corporations, the Civic Centre, and Rajan Babu Institute of Pulmonary Medicine and Tuberculosis Hospital have been tasked to shoo away canines.

After the recent death of a seven-year-old boy, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation has taken some 40 dogs from its areas for sterilisation.

“We have sterilised some 1,336 dogs so far this year,” says an official. “The maximum number of sterilisation of some 5,454 dogs has been done by the South Corporation,” adds the official.

The south civic agency claims that the number of sterilisations and anti-rabies immunisation has gone up from 24,339 in 2012-2013 to 33,066 in 2014-2015. Officials, however, say that much more is needed to curb the problem. “Inadequate funds and lack of staff pose the biggest challenge in making the sterilisation programme successful across the city. The civic agencies are also mulling modernising the catching and sterilisation process,” says the official.

The south civic agency says that it has only one dog van and a handful of dog catchers in each zone. “We are in the process of procuring 10 new dog vans,” adds the official.

Officials say that the South Corporation had approached the High Court seeking land from the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) for sterilisation and immunisation centres.

According to the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957, it is compulsory to register pet dogs. “A very miniscule section of society gets its pets registered. And if they bite someone then who is to be blamed?” says the official.

Strays generally congregate around food stalls and eateries as people throw food out in the open. “There is a tendency to feed dogs in the middle of the road that makes it impossible for passers-by to cross the stretch. People should also keep in mind to feed strays on the roadside or in a secluded area,” says Amrita Singh, a private firm employee.

But some women say that strays are their best friend. “I feel more secure walking down a deserted street if dogs are around. It has so happened in the past that they have chased away lechers. So I guess they are a woman’s best friend,” says Tina Desai, a Delhi Univeversity student.

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(Published 16 August 2015, 03:35 IST)

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