Yet again, strays maul child

YOUNG VICTIM: Architha S. was just visiting her father, a construction labourer who lives in Razakpalya in Bagalur, when she was attacked.

Our children continue to be mauled by stray dogs. On Friday morning, Architha S. (8) was badly bitten by a pack when she went to relieve herself under a tree barely about 100 metres from her house near Bagalur.

Her father, G.S. Srinivas, said he was shocked to see his daughter’s flesh ripped and bloodied when some six to eight dogs attacked her around 6.30 a.m. Thankfully, a taxi driver who saw what was happening came to the child’s rescue and rushed her to a nearby hospital from where she was referred to the M.S. Ramaiah Memorial Hospital.

She was just visiting

A distraught Mr. Srinivas said it was sheer bad luck that his daughter happened to be there in the first place. “My daughter lives with my parents near Chickballapur and we brought her to the city as she had fever. In fact, I was supposed to buy her books and bag and send her back to the village. How I wish I had not brought her here. She has wounds all over her body and she is not able to talk properly. Her clothes were torn and she was bleeding badly and her flesh was exposed. We are fortunate that she survived.”

Mr. Srinivas, a construction labourer, is worried about the medical expenses. “I earn Rs. 3,000 a month: my relatives managed to gather Rs. 8,000 for her treatment. Now, we don’t have a single rupee with us.”

In the ICU

V. Narendranath, chief administrator of the hospital, said Architha had wounds on her left forearm and right thigh. “She is stable and undergoing procedure for wound debridement and will be kept for further observation and treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU).” He added the hospital was footing the bill as the patient’s family could not afford it.

Meanwhile, Parvez Ahmed Piran, Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike’s Animal Husbandry Department Joint Director, said the dog bite had taken place outside the BBMP limits. “But, we have provided the anti-rabies serum free of cost on humanitarian grounds.” Asked if the BBMP would reimburse the medical expenses, he said the family would have to approach the Deputy Commissioner of Bangalore (Urban) for compensation.