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NEW DELHI: Stray dogs are having a free run on the streets of Delhi. Despite Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s (MCD) sterilization campaign, the population of dogs is multiplying and close to 400 dog bite incidents are reported in city hospitals every day. Residents say that despite repeated complaints, MCD doesn’t take any action to control the menace. Last month, Shekhar Sharma, a resident of Mayur Vihar phase II, was bitten by a stray dog on his wrist. He was rushed to RML hospital as he was bleeding profusely. “I was lucky to get timely treatment. The next day I made a complaint to MCD, but no one came to catch the dog. The population of dogs in our area is increasing by the day. Aggressive dogs should be relocated to an animal shelter,” said Sharma. On an average, Safdarjung Hospital sees close to 300-odd dog bite cases every day in its anti-rabies clinic. Last year, the State Health Intelligence Bureau (SHIB), Delhi government, reported 14,062 cases of dog bite of which 15 people died due to rabies. Delhi government officials say that the figures are much more as a lot of private and central government hospitals don’t report to them. “We are asking more and more hospitals in the city to report dog bite cases to us, so that we can assess the seriousness of the problem. The number of cases might be more than 14,000, as a lot of hospitals don’t report to us,” said Dr R N Sharma, deputy director, SHIB. Last year, 15 people died due to rabies. According to MCD, there are close to 2.6 lakh dogs in the city and the dog population is decreasing due to MCD’s aggressive sterilization drive, a claim residents of Delhi refuse to believe. “The number of dogs has almost doubled in our area. In the last one year, I have never seen a dog van in my area. From where do they pick up dogs? If they come to an area, then they should approach the resident welfare associations so that they can be briefed about the problem,” said Rajesh Narula, a member of Kailash Colony. Like Kailash Colony, residents of South Extension, GK-1 and II, Vasant Kunj, Vasant Vihar etc are also facing a similar problem. The zonal offices of MCD receive 12-15 complaints of dog menace every day. Though MCD has engaged nine NGOs to sterilize dogs, it takes more than two-three days to address a complaint. As per records, MCD sterilized 38,000 dogs last year. And after neutering, dogs are released back in the same locality. Residents say that an aggressive dog continues to bite people after sterilization. “Such dogs should be taken away from the area. Neutering them doesn’t solve our problem. They move in groups and often chase cars and two-wheelers. The locality is just not safe for children. Most of us carry a stick while going for an evening walk,” said Rajesh Sehgal, president of Mayur Vihar phase II (Pocket B) RWA. MCD officials agree that the problem is serious as they get several complaints every day, but say that they are helpless in providing a solution. “As per the court order, we have to release the dogs back into the locality after sterilization. Even if the dog is aggressive, we can’t confine him. Only dogs suffering from rabies are kept in isolation centres,” said a senior veterinary doctor with MCD. NGOs say that lack of funds and limited number of sterilization centres in the city is the biggest hurdle in controlling the population of dogs. “We don’t have much space to keep dogs. We have been asking MCD to give us more space so that we can sterilize more dogs. As for funds, we don’t get them on time. During Commonwealth Games, on MCD’s request we kept close to 550 dogs and sterilized them. The civic agency is yet to pay us for it. We get close to 40-odd calls related to dogs every day. But with our limited resources we can’t attend to all of them,” said Geeta Seshamani, co-founder and vice-president, Friendicoes SECA. In 2007, MCD had made a proposal to Animal Welfare Board of India to create a special dog home to keep canines. But the proposal was turn down by the board. MCD officials say that there is an urgent need for special dog shelters, so that aggressive dogs can be kept there. Even NGOs agree with this demand of the civic agency. “But these shelter homes should be run by NGOs which have expertise in this field,” said Seshamani. http://www.advocateindelhi.net
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