By Majid Nabi
Srinagar- A Pall of gloom descended on the Rather family of Batamalu after their lone young son succumbed at SKIMS Bemina, 12 days after slipping into a sewer while saving his life from a pack of stray dogs.
Ahmad bin Javed, according to his family, was an endearing child, who was adored by everyone in the locality and at the school.
“I can’t believe Ahmad is no more. His naughty acts and smiling face would cheer us up and his sudden death has shattered us all. My heart pierces when people remind me that my son is no more,” devastated father, Javaid Ahmad Rather said while talking to Kashmir Observer at his residence where a stream of visitors came on Friday to console him
A student of Dubai Grand International School on the city outskirts, Ahmad was playing joyfully with other kids of the neighborhood on May 28 outside his home, when a pack of dogs came charging. Caught by surprise canine attack, 11 year old Ahmad tried to run away. However, he slipped into a sewer while saving his life.
“Ahmad was loved by everyone in the locality. His teachers and classmates in the school mourn him today. His mother and younger sister are in a state of shock, I don’t know what needs to be done,” Javed said.
Javed said the death of his son has shattered all his dreams and created a void that could never be filled.
“I want to see him again. I will never scold him for his naughtiness. I don’t know why God snatched my world. He was quite a brilliant kid, he was so sharp, be it studies or other activities,” the distraught father said before tears started trickling down his cheeks.
Ahmad, Javed said, remained on a ventilator for nearly 12 days and succumbed on Thursday evening at SKIMS Bemina. His brain, Rather said, was dead while fluid accumulated in his lungs.
He said the doctors left no stone unturned to save his son’s life but all their efforts couldn’t bring him back.
“I appeal authorities to take some measures so that no child could again fall prey to these stray dogs.”
Pertinently, stray dog assaults have increased in both rural and urban areas of the valley and that susceptible population including elderly and young are the worst hit.
It is worth mentioning that a middle aged woman died after being bitten by stray dogs in Munawarabad locality in April this year.
A seven years old girl, Surat Jan daughter of Mohammad Ashraf from Mitragam, Kulgam in south Kashmir was seriously injured by stray dogs outside her makeshift home. She was admitted at Children’s Hospital Bemina here.
Annoyed by the huge population of dogs in his area, another elderly man from Shalimar area in Srinagar was arrested for tying a stray dog to his two-wheeler with a rope and dragging it down the Fore-Shore Road in April this year.
According to the data, nearly 5000 dog bite cases have been reported to Anti Rabies Clinic in Kashmir, with nearly 4,000 such cases reported from Srinagar city alone.
When contacted, Commissioner Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC), Athar Amir Khan said that two sterilization centers have been set up in Srinagar.
“A rapid sterilization drive has been launched in Srinagar in this regard and I hope the sterilization process will help reduce the canine population in urban areas,” he added.
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