Dog bites? Blame Valley forces - PIL against canines

Srinagar, July 23: If the Valley is going to the dogs, blame it on the men in uniform.

Residents of Kashmir say one reason behind the “alarming increase” in the number of stray dogs is security forces who “nurture” them “around their camps” by giving them left-over food.

According to Salim Khan, a member of a rabies-control body, the dog population in Srinagar was estimated to be between 80,000 and 1 lakh. “The dog to human ratio in the city is 1:14…” he said, “quite high compared with other cities in India.”

A petition filed in Jammu and Kashmir High Court by VIVA Kashmir, a body representing 16 non-government organisations, has drawn attention to the “ghastly and appalling conditions prevalent in summer capital (Srinagar)” because of the “dog menace”.

A.R. Hanjura, who filed the petition, said the canines serve as “whistle-blowers” for the forces during any suspicious movement.

“The court has issued notices to both the CRPF and Jammu and Kashmir police,” Hanjura added.

CRPF spokesperson Prabhakar Tripathy said his force had no reason to “encourage” breeding of strays. “We have our dogs trained by professional trainers,” he said.

But the residents aren’t convinced. Increasing cases of dog-bites have left them growling in indignation.

Khan said the Valley recorded 18,000 dog-bite cases in a year till March 2011, including 4,000 in Srinagar. Hanjura put the city figure at 25,000 over the past five years. “Each bite costs Rs 2,000 for treatment and also causes a lot of pain,” he said. “There have been a few deaths too.”

In 2008, Valley authorities had planned to poison around 1 lakh dogs as part of an anti-rabies drive, but backed off after protests by animal rights activists.

Sources in the anti-rabies department of Srinagar’s SMHS hospital didn’t directly blame the forces but recalled they once “escaped a thrashing” after some dogs had been culled, apparently by the municipal corporation.

“The troopers entered our office in 2007. Some dogs had been killed in the adjoining Safa Kadal locality and they blamed us for that. They left after we pleaded that we treat patients here and have no role in checking the canine population,” said an official.