Representational Photo
Srinagar- As authorities fail to put an end to dog menace in Kashmir, the number of dog bite cases in Kashmir have sent shivers among Kashmiris.
The presence of dogs on every nook and corner of the city has left the city dwellers up in arms against authorities for having failed to end the menace.
Kashmir recorded 5,629 bite victims, mostly dog bites, reported to the Anti-Rabies Clinic at Srinagar’s Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) hospital in the last one year, official figures reveal.
An official from ARC SMHS said from 1st April 2021 to 31st March 2022, as many as 5,629 bite cases were reported to ARC SMHS and most of them were from Srinagar.
Giving details, he said that 259 cases were reported in April 2021, 360 in May, 489 in June, 652 in July, 450 in August, 576 in September, 520 in October, 470 in November, 408 in December, 454 in January 2022, 394 in February and 597 in March.
Among the 5,629 cases, 4,264 were from Srinagar, indicating the gravity of the situation in the city.
In the last one decade, a total of 59,282 cases of bite have been reported to ARC SMHS.
In Kashmir, thousands of people become victims of animal bites, especially dog bites, and some of them develop rabies.
The only way to prevent a rabies death is vaccination of an animal bite victim. In Kashmir, the burden and characteristics of dog bites are not routinely captured by the health system in place.
While ordinary people have a tough time walking around the city streets, authorities say they are doing their bit to put an end to the dog menace.
Experts suggest a dog sterilization programme to reduce the dog population but Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) has failed to establish adequate dog sterilization units in Srinagar to combat the challenge of dog menace.
Dr Tawheed Ahmed Veterinary Officer, Srinagar Municipal Corporation said sterilization of dogs is being done at Shuhama Sterilization centre.
“Around twenty surgeries are being performed at the Shuhama Centre daily” he said.
He said that another dog sterilization centre is being made operational at Tengpora Byepass and work is nearing completion.
“We are accelerating the dog sterilization programme, the centre at Tengpora is almost eighty percent complete”.
“Once completed we can perform 50 to 60 surgeries per day at the centre”, he said.
“The center at most will take one month to complete”.
He pinned hope, once the dog sterilization programme is complete, dog populace will stabilize and eventually decline.
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