Dog is considered as a man’s best friend, but this has become a problem for people in Visakhapatnam. With constant reports of dogs attacking humans catching the limelight, there is a need to curb the dog menace.
In Visakhapatnam city, about 500 to 600 dog bites incidents are being reported every year. According to the records available with the Greater Visakhapatnam Muncipal Corporation (GVMC), there are 60,000 dogs in the city but the number has increased more than a lakh.
The GVMC receives petitions pertaining to dog menace from a particular area, and the officials take necessary steps by making sure that the dogs are not a threat to the people residing there.
Most of the complaints are based on barking, biting and chasing.
M Mohan Kumar, a techie, said, “My work shift ends at 11 pm in the night. There are many dogs waiting to attack motorist, once I was chased and in order to dodge them I rammed into a divider and suffered a jaw fracture.” Every area has a den where around 14 to 16 dogs live together.
But there is no surety of these canines being vaccinated. Reproduction season for dogs starts from October to February and it is the peak time where umpteen number of puppies are given birth, bolstering the population of the canines. To vaccinate each and every dog is an uphill task for the officials.
In another case, a young child, carrying eatables was attacked by a dog and the child suffered from several bites at Shivajipalem, a few days ago.
Appala Naidu, a resident of Shivajipalem area said we cannot blame the corporation or the dogs for these kind of attack, we need to blame the residents themselves.
“They throw food waste and dump old food near their places which invites these dogs, making it a habit for them. Later, after being accustomed, when they do not get food, they start attacking residents. People should use dustbins to throw waste rather then feeding the dogs and getting attacked,” he said.
In every Urban Health Centre there are anti rabies vaccines available, the people who are bitten by dogs can go to the health centres and avail injections.
Dr B Rammohan Rao, city veterinary officer said it is very difficult to keep a tab on the dog’s population. According to Rammohan, “Every year we vaccinate approximately 25,000 dogs with the help of an NGO, Visakha Society for Protection and Care of Animals (VSPCA). We pay `20 lakh per year to the NGO to vaccinate dogs at the rate of `395 per dog. This NGO takes care of the vaccination and amake sure there is no spread of Rabies.”