MAPUSA: A school girl was injured when she tried to escape after she was chased by stray dogs outside her school. She is reported to have fractured her leg and was admitted to the North Goa District Hospital, Mapusa. This is the third such incident in Mapusa.
Expressing fear about rabies, residents have called on the government to implement the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Act to control the dog population in Mapusa. They also called on the government to provide financial assistance to NGOs to carry out the dog sterilization programme. They also called on government to ensure that stray dogs do not lurk in the vicinity of the schools and to ensure the safety of students.
Resident of Mapusa Salman Khan said that the Central Govt has to give the fund under Animal Birth Control to NGOs for birth control and sterilization of animals. The fund is also to care for dogs and administer medicines if necessary. This is not being implemented in Goa and due to this reason today this girl is injured and has fractured her leg.
“The girl after this fracture will be unable to answer her examination. This is the third case is Mapusa at Karaswada. Another delivery boy was bitten by a stray dog. Due to this he too suffered. There is risk of spread of rabies. My appeal to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant is to start implementing the ABC programme in Goa and to put in place a system for the care of stray dogs.
Another Mapusa based activist asked, “The govt where is the money which is coming for the ABC programme for the last three to four years. So what is the govt doing with this fund? Where is it being used? We want the safety of our children. I appeal to the CM to act on this issue as soon as possible. Children are our future, we want to protect our children.”
