"Avoid dumping garbage on streets, it will keep stray dogs away" Bhatkal TMC CO advises residents as stray mad dogs attack Eight in one week

Bhatkal 15 September 2018: (Bhatkallys News Bureau) A stray mad dog on Thursday again attacked four people including a kid near Railway station here, only two-days after another stray mad dog attacked four pedestrians in Mutalli locality. The victims have been identified as Shabana (25), Shabbir (50), Umme Salma (31) and a ten year old kid Rayyan. The four victims were attacked near railway station here in Bhatkal. The unavailability of adequate vaccines at the Bhatkal Taluka Government Hospital, adds more to the woes of locals, as they are forced to purchase the vaccines from private medical shops, which comes at a costly price. "For poor people like us, it is very difficult to purchase those vaccines from private medical stores, plus for the bite of mad dog we have to purchase another additional vaccines which is also very expensive. So somewhere the administration is lagging in serving us, and fulfilling their duties, they should have the adequate medicine and vaccines ready as we cannot skip it and are forced to purchase is from private medical stores" added a relative of one of the victim of recent attacks. People meanwhile, after reading the reports on social media had generalized the issue and had started blaming TMC for not controlling the growth of stray dogs. Speaking to Bhatkallys.com TMC Chief Officer Venkatesh Navadu, said that the areas where the attacks have been reported over the last week does not come under the limits of TMC and comes under the Muttalli Gram Panchayath, and it is the local body who should come up with the solution for their residents in their limits. However, Venkatesh did not deny the possibility of these dogs coming into the TMC limits and attacking people and requested people of across the town to avoid dumping garbage on streets as it is one of the major reason why the dogs loom into the residential streets. "One of the major reason for these attacks is the garbage that is dumped in the streets, a few years back cases of dog attacks were reported in Maghdoom colony and Bunder road where we took off the garbage dumping boxes while looking for solution, and the step immediately paid off, within sometime there were no signs of dogs in these streets. So irrespective of which area of the town it is, I request all the readers to avoid dumping garbage on streets" Venkatesh added. When asked about the local government bodies controlling the growth of animals Venkatesh added, "We cannot kill the animals, we don't have the right to do it. All we can do is we can implement "Animal Birth Control' but it will not immediately pay off, it will take few years to show results". Meanwhile the Assistant Commissioner is set to communicate the matter with the TMC Chief Officer on Monday, after which Venkatesh said he will take up the matter in TMC General body meeting this month. Taluka Health Officer Murthyraj Bhat denied reports of unavailability of adequate dog bite vaccines, and said only the vaccine which is used in treatment of mad dog's bite is out of stock, he further added that the order for vaccination has been placed and will be available at the Taluka hospital soon. (Bhatkallys News Bureau/ Ismail Zaorez)