BALLARI: Barely two months after two children were fatally bitten by a rabies-infected dog in Ballari, a pack of stray dogs went on the rampage and attacked 20 people at three different locations in the city. Four of the victims have been admitted to the ICU ward in Vijayanagara Institute of Medical Science (VIMS). Among the 20 victims, seven are children.
According to local residents, the dogs had symptoms of rabies, but corporation officials have denied it.
Manujath Nayak, who was bitten by a dog, said three dogs, including one which had rabies symptoms, attacked the people all of a sudden.
“The incident was reported in ward number 30 in Vattappagere area,” he said. “Recently, one rabies-infected dog was found roaming in our area. We alerted city municipal corporation officials, but they did not pay heed. Now, we are suffering due to inaction by authorities ,” he added.Nikita, founder of Humane World for Animal, Ballari, said stray dog bite cases have become common in Ballari city.
‘Will carry out 15,000 sterilisations’
“Since the last six months, Animal Birth Control (ABC) and Anti Rabies Vaccine (ARV) programmes have been completely stopped. This is one of the reasons for the increase in the number of stray dogs. Number of rabies-infected dogs is also going up,” Nikita said.
Rudresh, commissioner, Ballari City Municipal Corporation said that he visited VIMS and enquired with the injured persons. “To control the increasing number of stray dogs in Ballari city, we have decided to launch a Rs 3.09 crore programme and have set a target of carrying out 15,000 sterilisations in a year,” he said.