Bite cases still ‘dog’ civic body

Hyderabad: Despite the GHMC’s reported drives to control  the number of dogs, amid close monitoring by animal rights activists, the Fever Hospital here continues to register 40 to 50 cases of dog bites every day.

Hospital officials say sometimes the hospital registers about 70 to  90 cases of dog bites. These figures do not include patients who go to private hospitals for dog bites.

Officials say the mixed use of residential areas for commercial and industrial purposes has contributed to the presence of stray dogs throughout the day.

In defence of the dogs, an animal activist said, “You can’t blame the dogs because food is dumped in and around municipal bins. The animal gets agitated if it perceives  danger from humans.”

That is no consolation to Ram, a resident of VV Nagar Colony. He said, “I was going out to pick up something from a shop. When I got out from my apartment, a dog sank its teeth in my leg.”
 Mr Ram said that  the wound required treatment for three months.

The GHMC says it is doing its bit. “Every day, the team catches about 200 dogs and vaccinates and sterilises them. There are dog bite cases which don’t come under the purview of the GHMC. Because of the rules of the animal welfare department we cannot do anything apart from controlling the birth rate. That, however, has worked. The number of stray dogs has reduced,” said Venkateshwar Reddy, chief veterinary officer.