Reports of a stray dog attacking as many as 14 people in a single day have come in from Vasai-Virar on Friday
In what points to the menace of stray dogs in Mumbai, the state government has admitted that over 3.28 lakh people have been bitten by these animals in the city in five years. Of these dog bite victims, four have died.
Speaking in the state legislative council on Thursday, Minister of State for Urban Development Dr Ranjit Patil said that in Mumbai, 3,28,704 cases of dog bites had been recorded in five years and 41,385 dogs have been vaccinated and neutered in this period. In neighbouring Thane, 62,522 cases of dog bites have been reported in five years, while in Mira-Bhayander the number is 1,200 per month and in Kalyan- Dombivli it is 7,360 in the last one year.
However, the highest toll due to dog bites has been recorded in Nagpur, where 106 of the 56,126 people bitten by strays in six years have passed away.
Patil admitted that in 10 years, over 14 lakh people in Maharashtra suffered dog bites and 430 people have died.
Jagannath Shinde of NCP claimed that there was no control on strays and records of animal birth control procedures conducted on dogs by voluntary organisations were fudged. However, Patil said that these groups were meeting their yearly targets regarding the procedures and payments were not being released to them without verification.
On November 22, the state had issued a government resolution asking local self-government bodies to take measures for controlling stray dogs in their jurisdiction. These municipal bodies have been asked to implement the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 and Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rules, 2001. Anti-rabies vaccines will also be given out free of cost at civic hospitals.
Based on the orders of the Supreme Court, the state government has asked every municipal body to form an Animal Birth Control Monitoring Committee.
Meanwhile, reports of a stray dog attacking as many as 14 people in a single day have come in. “The people bitten by the dog on Thursday were between 5 and 60 years of age. While a few of them have been admitted in hospitals, others were allowed to go home after administering anti-rabies injection,” said Bhakti Chaudehari, a veterinarian from Vasai-Virar Maharnagar Palika.
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