Srinagar: The Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) has proposed to sterilize the entire stray dog population within one year in the city, where this menace has become a vexing issue for the residents.
The stray dog population has witnessed several fold increase in Srinagar during the past few years. According to an official data, about 15,000 dog bite cases were reported in the city and registered at anti-rabies facility of the SMHS hospital between April 2018 and November 2020.
Meanwhile, Srinagar Mayor Junaid Azim Mattu said that SMC will distribute 10,000 N-95 masks among the frontline Corporation field workers.
Taking to micro-blogging site Twitter Mattu, who is president of the Apni Party (AP) youth wing, said “We are proposing Srinagar’s first – comprehensive, humane and scientific project to sterilize the entire stray dog population in the city within one year. This is admittedly an ambitious project and a big challenge, but I assure you, this is a very important priority for us”.
Stray dogs continue to prowl in most areas in Srinagar areas with locals accusing SMC of not taking effective steps to curb the menace. The biggest reason behind the problem is open garbage as stray dogs rely on garbage while hunting for eatables. Countries that have garbage kept in bins and are cleaned regularly see lesser number of stray dogs.
Mattu said a lot of interventions are being made to improve sanitation and make Srinagar free of open garbage sites and dumpsters. “We aim to achieve a 100 per cent door to door collection of segregated waste this year,” he said.
Packs of stray dogs roaming on the city roads is a common sight, particularly on the banks of river Jhelum and Flood channel, making it difficult for locals to move around without confrontation with the animals.
In November 2015, the Supreme Court asked all states and union territories to follow central rules, which ban killing stray dogs in India. The Court ruled that only “irretrievably ill or mortally wounded” stray dogs can be eliminated, which should happen in a “humane manner.”
