Amid rise in the stray dog population and canine bite cases in the summer capital, Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) is only able to carry out sterilisation of just 10 to 15 dogs per day.
The 10 to 15 dogs sterilisation per day is as per official figures which residents in Srinagar believe can be much lower otherwise.
Locals said SMC’s ambitious dog sterilisation program is yet to take off while the increasing population of dogs is posing threat to human beings.
To gear up the sterilisation and have satisfactory results, SMC was supposed to outsource the program for stray dogs to an expert agency so that sterilisation of the canine population can be carried out on a large scale in a time-bound manner.
“For a year now we have been asking authorities to check the dog menace but nothing is done. Dozens of dogs are roaming in Dalgate. It is risky to go out without accompanying someone” said Muneer Gul, a local from Dalgate.
Various localities also alleged that no one is paying heed to their complaints at SMC about the presence of dogs in their localities.
Earlier this year, the SMC officials have been saying that they will set up three new sterilization centers for the canine population. As per the officials the infrastructure that is available for sterilisation is at minimum capacity.
Residents said that the failure of SMC to take measures for controlling the fast-growing population of stray dogs is taking a heavy toll on them. In absence of any regulation, children and old-aged persons are under constant threat of dog bites.
“Presence of a large number of stray dogs during evenings hampers our movement,” said Shabir Ahmad, a resident of Jawahar Nagar.
“Dozens of stray dogs are present in our area. We are afraid to even venture out during evenings,” said a group of residents of Babademb locality.
“Dogs chase us even during the day. At least 30 to 40 dogs can be spotted in our street. We don’t think authorities are serious about doing their job. The process of sterilisation is confined to papers only” said Mushtaq Ahmad, a resident of Bemina.
People of Aali Kadal, Rajouri Kadal, Safa Kadal, Bemina, Sonwar, and Rambagh also complained about the growing dog menace.
SMC Commissioner Athar Aamir said that the issue of dog menace will be checked soon as most of the formalities regarding setting up of new dog sterilisation centers in Srinagar have been completed.
“We have issued tender in March-April this year. However, due to the COVID19 pandemic, the process got derailed,” he said while replying to a query.
“One of the sterilisation facilities is ready at Shuhama and the other three will come up at Downtown, Tengpora, and an additional center at Shuhama. We will be able to carry out 250 to 300 sterilisation surgeries as compared to around 15 right now” he added.
As per a report by the department of Community Medicines, Government Medical College (GMC) Srinagar, around 58,869 persons were bitten by the dogs in the last ten years in Kashmir.
In the last five years, 30,000 dog bite cases have been reported in Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital (SMHS) alone. While topping the list in 2020 more than 2,800 cases of dog bites were reported in Srinagar only.
