HYDERABAD: The ghastly incident in Visakhapatnam, where a 20-month-old child was bitten and mauled by street dogs, has sent shock waves among denizens in the city. The nuisance of stray dog attacks has grown to scary proportions in Hyderabad also with packs of canines roaming the streets sending shivers among pedestrians At least 25 persons landing in Fever Hospital, Nallakunta, with dog bite injuries. The numbers are higher during summer season when canines go wild due to extreme heat.
The increasing number of complaints regarding dog menace has become a hot topic of discussion in the city. The packs of hungry stray dogs pose a threat to children and adults alike indicating the threat that is looming large in the city.
On Friday, Siva Keshav, a 20-month-old child, was mauled to death by a pack of stray dogs in Siripuram area of Vishakahapatnam. The dogs attacked the child when he went out to play near his house.
While packs of street dogs chase and frighten children on the way to school, office-goers who return after late night shifts are also afraid to return home alone.
An employee of an overseas transcription company explained his daily ordeal while returning home. “Office cab drops me at 1.30 am and my home is 200 meters away from the dropping point. But on every night, the sight of dogs sents shivers down my spine, I shudder at each barking sound and walks cautiously to cover the short-distance. A pack of 6-7 dogs will be roaming the area at that time. The fear of a dog attack always haunts me,” said Divya Charan, an employee of a transcription company who lives in Malkajigiri limits. He added that last week his neighbour was attacked by two dogs.
“About 30 people arrived in our hospital with dog bit injuries on Saturday,” said Dr K Shankar, superintendent of Fever Hospital.
As part of the programme to minimize dog population and rabies infection, GHMC’s veterinary wing are sterilizing canines. The GHMC dog squad catches at least 150-200 stray dogs a day. And it is learnt that in some zones of Hyderabad, around 55 per cent of the dog are sterilized.
An official from the corporation said, “Population of street dogs will come down if at least 70 per cent of the dogs are sterilized. It would take more than a year to sterilize all of them”.
Dr P Venkateswara Reddy, chief veterinary officer of GHMC, said that compared to other cities, cases of dog bites have come down in Hyderabad.