Panic has gripped the people of Kunduparamba ward of the Kozhikode Corporation after a rabid dog bit six people on Monday. The dog attacked a two-year-old child who was playing on the verandah of his house at Nellikkapuli, and then attacked five people on the road, including two persons from Kakkodi. Several others were injured when they fell down while trying to escape the dog’s attack.
“All those who were bitten have been administered the vaccine and are recuperating at their homes. However, the persons who fell down have more serious injuries,” said K. Reeja, councillor of the Kunduparamba ward. She said people from various residents’ associations in the ward have been calling her repeatedly, demanding that arrangements be made to clear their areas of stray dogs.
The Corporation's squad that visited the place could not find the rabid dog. The public fear that the rabid dog may infect other stray dogs and the problem would worsen. There was an anganwadi close to the spot where the incident took place, and parents were scared to send their children to the anganwadi, said Ms. Reeja.
The ward, like most other wards of the civic body, has been facing the stray dog menace for years. Several dogs from the ward have been sterilised and brought back after the Corporation’s Animal Birth Control (ABC) centre started functioning. However, the sterilisation was not fully effective, said the councillor. “We see that even sterilised dogs sometimes give birth to a full litter,” she said, adding that many more unsterilised dogs loitered on the streets, terrorising the public.
