Packs of stray dogs menacingly roaming the streets is no strange news in Hyderabad, where canine attacks and bite are regularly reported from several localities, especially from city fringes.
The latest evidence is that even high-profile localities in the core city are not exempt from increasing number of stray dogs, despite GHMC’s claims about successful sterilisation programme. Mother-dogs with pups in tow can be found even around the Chief Minister’s camp office, while the same are in high numbers in fringe localities such as Hayatnagar and Mansurabad.
Increased number of stray dogs are being reported from localities such as Necklace Road, Domalguda, Punjagutta, Banjara Hills, Begumpet, Nampally, and several other areas.
“I was walking on the road near the Chief Minister’s camp office, when suddenly four-five dogs crossed my path at the turning, barking at one another. My first reaction was panic, because it was my regular route and I had never encountered so many dogs,” said Smriti Jha, a HR professional staying at Begumpet.
Packs of dogs could be seen on the Necklace Road and NTR Marg too, spots thronged by visitors during evenings and weekends.
Over a year ago, GHMC had embarked upon a massive ABC-ARV (Animal Birth Control and Anti Rabies Vaccination) programme in city with a target of sterilising and inoculating a total 2.5 lakh stray dogs in a year.
Officials are claiming that they could reach their targets, which means that over 50-55 per cent of the total 4.7 lakh dogs in the city have been sterilised and/or jabbed. The programme will be continued till all the dogs are covered, they say.
However, the programme, if successful, has certainly not been evenly carried out across the city. As per official claims, not all the localities have received equal attention.
All the circles in the Serilingampally Zone, which is the hub of IT firms, have been covered as part of the drive, including Serilingampally, Chandanagar, Patancheru/Ramachandrapuram, and Yusufguda, while only a circle or two have been covered in the rest of the city.
Two circles, Qutbullahpur and Alwal in Kukatpally zone, Kapra in LB Nagar, Mehdipatnam in Khairatabad and Malakpet in Charminar zone are the only other circles covered in the drive.
“All the sterilised dogs are given an earmarking for easy recognition during subsequent drives. Where the dogs are earmarked, we are vaccinating them on the spot and releasing them. If not earmarked, we are picking them up for sterilisation,” an official said, claiming that 280 to 300 sterilisation surgeries are being performed every day at the dog pounds.
Complaints about canine bite too have come down to less than 10 a month, he says.
