VISAKHAPATNAM: A pack of dogs reportedly mauled 70-year-old Santhamma in Visakhapatnam on Monday. She lived with her daughter-in-law at Ambedkar Colony in Ward 87, under Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) limits.
The incident occurred early in the morning when she ventured onto the road near her house alone. Unfortunately, with no one awake or on the street at that hour, the attack proved fatal, and she succumbed to the injuries on the spot. It wasn’t until later in the morning that locals spotted her lifeless body on the road and promptly informed her daughter-in-law.
Areas such as Madhurawada, Kommadi, Bakkannapalem, Arilova, Adarshanagar, Ravindranagar, Tatichetlapalem, Kancharapalem, Gajuwaka, Pendurthi, and Parawada are reported to be most prone to the menace of stray dogs and pigs, characterised by village-type conditions and situated away from city limits.
Speaking to TNIE, GVMC AMOH Dr Kishore, disclosed, “Currently, there are around 1.20 lakh stray dogs, of which 94,000 have been sterilized. Nearly 1,500 dogs are undergoing ABC (anti-birth control) operations every month. Since we cannot drive the dogs away, we are quickly operating on as many stray dogs as we can.”
A new ABC centre has been established at Narava in addition to the existing one in Arilova to meet the rising demand. Since the opening of the Narava ABC Centre, even dogs from Anakapalle are being operated here.