India Today article on B'lore dogs

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Copyright 2007 Living Media India Ltd.

 

India Today

March 19, 2007

STATES: KARNATAKA; Pg. 30

889 words

 

Giga Bite Valley

 

Stephen David

 

The death of two children in dog attacks points to the crumbling

civic and health infrastructure in Bangalore

 

Around 6 p.m. on the last day of February, four-year-old Manjunath

had almost settled for an early supper when his young neighbourhood

friends called him out to play. The only son of a Bharat Earth

Movers Ltd (BEML) employee never came home alive. In a matter of

minutes, a pack of dozen ferocious street dogs pounced on the tiny-

tot and tore him to pieces. Onlookers chased the dogs away and

rushed him to the nearest hospital, but little Manju had already

became yet another fatal victim of stray dogs stalking India's

Silicon Valley.

 

Manujnath's was the second child to be killed by dogs in Bangalore

in the last two months. In January, eight-year-old Sridevi, who

lived with her parents in a slum cluster in the Chandra layout area,

met the same fate when she stepped out of her home to fetch her

father. The Bangalore City Corporation (BCC) was quick to pin the

blame on the illegal meat shops in the area. In Manjunath's case

too, the BCC was quick to pass the buck, saying the incident

happened in a high security defence area and it was therefore the

BEML authorities' responsibility.

 

For the BCC officials, who are used to protests and agitations over

the ever-increasing cases of dog bites, waging war on the stray dog

menace has never topped the priority list. The stray dog menace has

never been an issue of concern for the officials or the governments

as the majority of the victims belong to the oppressed classes of

society. " Almost 45 percent of dog-bite victims are slum children

playing on streets, " points out Dr B. J. Mahendra, professor at

Bangalore's Kempegowda Medical Institute and president of

Association for Prevention and Control of Rabies in India (APCRI).

He also points out that India adds 17.6 million rabies cases

annually, which accounts for 80 per cent of the cases worldwide. The

hospital he works in alone gets about 100 dog-bite cases a month.

The government-run Victoria hospital too gets about 100 cases in a

month.

 

Even as the city's urban infrastructure crumbles, it is these

increasing cases of canine attacks that also reveal the under belly

of the city's crumbling health infrastructure too. " How can you

explain the death of a little girl who was attacked on a busy road

in front of so many helpless and frightened onlookers? " asks civic

rights worker Krishna Bhat, on whose PIL, relating to dog menace,

the Karnataka High Court issued notices to the Centre, the state

Government, the city corporation and other respondents.

 

Bhat has challenged the constitutional validity of the provisions of

Rule 7, made under the Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rules 2001 and

asked to declare it " unconstitutional " . In his petition, he has also

asked the state Government and the corporation to comply with the

provisions of Municipal Solid Waste (Management and Handling) Rules

2000. The petitioner pointed out that the Union of India passed the

Prevention of Cruelity to Animals Act 1960, under which it has

issued several rules, which states that the capturing of dogs shall

be entertained on specific complaints relating to dog nuisance, dog

bites and the menace from rabid dogs only.

 

APCRI estimates that stray dog population in Bangalore is about

70,000. BCC officials, who have now roped in expert dog catchers

from outside the city, including Kerala, have been successful in

capturing more than 500 stray dogs since Manjunath's dreadful

killing. The officials express their helplessness by saying that

they are prevented from taking further action in this direction,

than to sterilise and release the dogs in response to the protests

by the well-funded animal rights organisations, who have managed to

bring stray dogs successfully in the ambit of Prevention of Cruelty

to Animals Act of 1960.

 

On the other hand, BCC Commissioner K. Jairaj comes up with some

deviating figures. According to him, the city has 56,000 street

dogs, contradicting the APCRI's figure of 70,000. " We have now

initiated action against stray dogs on a war-footing, " says Jairaj,

while admitting that the Animal Birth Control Programme, initiated

by BCC has not been effective by any means. There are more

contradicting figures on the roll. A December 2001 KIMS community

survey of dog bites, by professors M.K. Sudarshan, B.J. Mahendra and

D.H. Narayan, the estimated dog population is around 3.2 lakh, 61

per cent of which fall in the category of stray dogs. The annual

incidence of dog bites was 1.9 per cent. The magnitude of incidence

was more in males (64 per cent) than in females. About 86 per cent

of them received anti-rabies vaccination.

 

The former Lokayukta Justice N. Venkatachala, in a report on the

stray dog menace submitted to the state Government two years ago,

had observed, " It is ... agonising to know how human beings are left

with no option, but to die in a miserable way when they become

victims of stray dog bites.. "

 

Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy has also jumped into the

fray. " If the animal welfare groups cannot do their jobs properly we

don't need their services. I have issued instructions to my

officials to deal with this as an emergency and I am monitoring this

on a daily basis. "

 

The seriousness of the issue has made the situation a major concern

for all the stakeholders. But the unfortunate denizens of the high-

tech city will have to watch over their shoulders for canines on the

prowl.