SUNDAY, MAY 19, 2024
Rabid dog mauls Borda boy
MARGAO, APRIL 7
The stray dog menace has come back again to haunt the citizens of the Commercial Capital. A 12-year old boy from Borda became the latest victim after he was mauled by a rabid dog last night, leaving him with bleeding injuries on his face and hands.
The incident occurred last night when the boy Nagesh Malwadi had gone to a nearby shop when he was attacked by the stray dog. The boy was immediately rushed to a local medical practitioner where he was administered tetanus and anti-rabbies vaccines, but questions of stray dogs on the prowl in the city remains unanswered.
Though the Margao Civic body took pride and tom-tomed over the inauguration of the dog shelter at the hands of Chief Minister Digambar Kamat, locals residents wondered whether the ongoing Animal Birth Control (ABC) program is suffice to meet the huge requirements.
A resident of Borda, Camilo Barretto said the local residents are scared to come out of their homes out of fear of stray dogs. “No doubt, the Civic body has recently opened dog shelter for the strays, but is the facility adequate to meet the situation?” Barretto asked and felt the government should work out a long-term solution to the burning issue without any further delay. “The government should first decide whether it considers lives of human beings important or not”, he added.
If Barretto is to be believed, this isn’t the first time that local residents have fallen victim to stray dogs and strongly demanded the Civic body and concerned authorities should make concerned efforts to solve the issue.
Local medical practitioner Dr Pushpshil Surlakar said the situation is indeed alarming with at least five dog bite cases reported from the city every day. He called upon the government to work out a long term solution before the stray dog population outnumber the human population in the city.
In this connection, Dr Surlakar said the government or the local Civic body should constitute a committee to discuss ways and means of controlling the population of stray dogs. “Just imagine if the population of stray dogs increases to unmanageable proportions in the next 10 years”, he said.
The stray dog menace indeed is a burning issue facing the citizens of Margao with the authorities turning a blind eye to the problem all these years.
Though the Margao Civic body recently inaugurated the dog shelter for sterilization of around 100 stray dogs per month, sources said it will take months before the shelter is put to the maximum use for want of facilities and other related infrastructure.
