BENGALURU: Mayor Sampath Raj and Animal Husbandry Department officials from BBMP, who visited Manipal Hospital on Thursday, said Praveen’s medical treatment will be paid for completely by the BBMP.
“We have told the doctors that any amount incurred on medical treatment will be borne by us,” the Mayor said. A visibly distraught Murugamma, Praveen’s mother, was inconsolable when she spoke of her son at the hospital on Wednesday. “Please pray for my son. He is loved by everybody in the locality. He is such a friendly boy. I want to see him play around again. He is also such a good dancer,” she said, as she wept uncontrollably.
Both Murugamma and Manohar, Praveen’s father, were working at the hospital’s housekeeping department when the incident happened. While Murugamma has worked in the hospital for 11 years, Manohar has worked here for three-and-a-half years.
Karnataka sees 2nd highest deaths due to rabies
According to the National Health Profile 2018, Karnataka accounts for the second largest number of deaths due to rabies in the country. In Bengaluru, the seven NGOs that are entrusted with the responsibility of sterilisation are also given the duty of vaccinating dogs.
While the death count was 15 in Karnataka out of 97 cases last year, in 2016 it recorded 22 deaths. According to a 2012 Census, there were 2.9 lakh dogs in Bengaluru, of which 1.05 lakh were pet and 1.85 lakh were stray.
BBMP spends around `3 crore for both sterilisation and vaccination of both stray and pet dogs. This year alone, till May end, 2,174 dog bites have been reported. In 2017, 35,266 dogs were administered vaccine within BBMP limits.
2 dog squads for 4 BBMP zones
To add to the woes, there are only two dog squads for picking up dogs. Each squad has two assistant directors and ward inspectors. Two attenders are assigned to four zones in BBMP limits. There are at least 93,000 roads in BBMP limits that have to be covered by these squads.