Hyderabad: With the temperature rising in the city, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has begun placing water bowls for stray dogs at several places, at a time when the dog scourge has threatened people's lives, with escalating attacks resulting in the deaths of minor children.
Without addressing the root of the problem, the civic body has been placing water bowls at various police stations, religious sites, and other locations to reduce the stray dog threat in the city. While the GHMC's action may appear to be a kind gesture to the stray dogs, it does not sit well with the victims of dog bites and their families.
"We have kept water bowls in designated locations such as schools, religious buildings, police stations, and other places to quench the thirst of stray dogs. Summertime sees an increase in dog attacks owing to hunger, dehydration, and skin infections. Stray dogs are more likely to attack people during the summer, thus we place the water bowls," was the logic of a GHMC officer who didn’t want to be quoted.
While the GHMC's action may be viewed as an act of kindness towards stray dogs, it does not sit well with the city's citizens or the scores of people who have been bitten by dogs.
It is quite another issue that the GHMC spends only Rs 1.75 crore per year on sterilisation of stray canines, which is woefully inadequate, said another source.
While dog bites are on the rise across the state — the most recent case was in Khammam, where a five-year-old boy died of rabies infection after being bitten by a dog near his Thanda — civic authorities blamed parents for sending their children to the shops alone or playing outside, and said that if the menace is to be controlled, the central laws must be amended.
They said that the Animal Birth Control-Anti Rabies (ABC/AR) programme as it is now implemented will have no effect.
“Parents bear the primary responsibility of preventing their children from playing alone or being sent to nearby stores. Stray dogs will mistake their bags for food and attack them,” a GHMC official stated.
Further, the corporation spent Rs 1.2 crore to hire 20 customised cars, drivers, and semi-skilled staff for a period of 90 days in all six zones, but the enforcement vans had yet to arrive.
Officials, however, contended that it had already deployed 17 vehicles and that they will be operational soon.
On the Animal Birth Control (Dog) Rule, 2001, the officials stated that the regulation allows for the neutering of stray dogs rather than their extermination to reduce their population.
“Until laws are amended, controlling stray dog menace not only in the city but also across the country would be impossible,” said a source.
Without embarking on the dog census programme, the corporation claims to have spent Rs 18 crore, of which Rs 16.25 crore was spent on employee salaries and only Rs 1.75 crore on the ABC/AR programme.
However, the civic authority stated that it has raised the number of sterilisations from 150 to 300 per day after the death of M. Pradeep, a four-year-old boy who was mauled by a pack of street dogs in Amberpet, without investing additional funds or deploying additional personnel or machinery.
According to GHMC sources, the corporation prepared a report on efforts taken to reduce the stray dog menace and plans to submit it to the High Court on May 16.
