Tanmay, 11, was playing outside his house in Padmanabha Nagar on Monday when he was attacked by a stray dog. His mother, who found him bleeding profusely, rushed him to a nearby hospital. A day after the attack, the child has developed fever and is yet to recover from the trauma of the attack.
The boy’s mother, Meena Mangala, said she had to take him to the hospital for a second time on Tuesday, as he was unable to cope with the pain.
The city has been reporting an increase in the number of attacks by stray dogs. In the last fortnight alone, there have at least been three cases, including the death of an 11-year-old boy who succumbed to injuries after being attacked by a pack of dogs at Vibhutipura.
A resident of Koramangala 6 Block said there were several stray dogs in their locality, some of which were aggressive. “Earlier, we used to live in Indiranagar. There too, we had a similar problem. I have stopped stepping out for my morning walks because I fear being attacked. I believe some local residents feed the dogs,” she said.
Complaints to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) did not help, they said, as officials told them that they cannot stop locals from feeding the dogs. “We have given up on trying to get it resolved,” she added.
A similar situation ensues in BTM Layout. The locality, which is a hub of paying guest accommodations, has a line of food joints, with food strewn in several corners of the road, said Vijayalakshmi S., a resident. “There are several meat shops. The waste is not disposed off properly. This attracts stray dogs. They are very aggressive and keep chasing people. A lot of working professionals come back home late at night and risk being attacked by these dogs,” she said.
The city’s lung space Lalbagh, which attracts a lot of early morning walkers, also has its share of stray dogs. Lalbagh Walkers’ Association member Sudarshan Reddy said they had asked all walkers not to feed dogs in the premises. “The problem of food being strewn around has come down a lot after we requested people not to feed dogs. Yet, there are many strays in the premises,” he said, adding that their association would make a representation to the Horticulture Department to tackle the issue.
‘Sterilisation is the only measure’
However, with a Supreme Court stay on either translocating or impounding stray dogs, BBMP officials said all they can do is to sterilise the dogs.
“This year alone, the Palike has sterilised 18,000 dogs, while last year, they performed birth control surgeries on 32,266 dogs,” said Dr. Anand, Joint Director, Animal Husbandry Department, BBMP. “The problem is linked to waste management. Wherever there is food, you will find stray dogs,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Palike is yet to conduct a dog census. The last survey was in 2012, according to which there were 3,27,000 dogs of which 1,85,000 were strays. Even though there was a proposal to undertake a survey last year, the Palike is yet to execute it.
‘Palike’s botched up ABC programme is causing the crisis’
While BBMP officials claim to have performed thousands of surgeries to sterilise stray dogs, these surgeries are not completely effective, animal rights activists alleged.
Environment and animal rights activist Arun Prasad, a resident of Wilson Garden, said surgeries done at the BBMP-managed Animal Birth Control centres were botched up. “In several cases it has been found that the suture has come loose after the surgery, leaving the animals in a lot of pain and distress. The medication given to the animals are also not up to the mark. If dogs are left in pain after the surgery, they can turn aggressive,” he said.
‘Dogs sent to unfamiliar locality after surgery’
Activists have urged the BBMP to bring back the strays to the locality from where they were picked up for surgeries.
Levin Dasan, who has been closely monitoring the Palike’s ABC programme, said apathy on the part of the ABC centres was causing the crisis. “The dogs are supposed to be sent back to the localities from where they were picked up. However, they are being dropped off in other localities. As dogs are territorial, this is causing aggression,” Mr. Dasan said.
He added that none of the functional ABC centres are authorised ones, which was adding to the problem.
‘Three children attacked on Monday recovering’
The three children who were attacked by a stray dog on Monday in Padmanabhanagar were out of danger and were recovering, said Krishna Gowda, BBMP Assistant Director (South), Animal Husbandry. Mahadevi, 9, Tanmay, 11, and Siri, 7, were the victims.
While Tanmay was severely injured, the other two suffered minor injuries, the official said.
The dog attacked the children when they were playing outside the house. The children were taken to BBMP referral hospitals for treatment, Mr. Gowda said. Meanwhile, the dog was kept under observation and at the outset it appeared normal, he added.
Recent incidents
September 10: Three children attacked by a stray dog in Padmanabhanagar when they were playing outside their house
September 9: 11-year-old Thejaswini died after being attacked by a pack of dogs in Kunigal, Tumakuru district when she was going to meet her mother, who was washing clothes in a nearby lake
September 6: Three people, including six-year-old child, were bitten by a stray dog at Gubbanna Layout in Rajajinagar 6th Block
September 1: 11-year-old Praveen died after being attacked by 10 dogs on the way back from school in Vibhutipura
