Sajid Bashir
Monday, May 30, 2011
LAHORE
THE City District Government Lahore (CDGL) has failed to control the increasing number of stray dogs in the provincial metropolis as dog-bite incidents have increased considerably recently.
According to a survey conducted by The News, the number of stray dogs has been increasing rapidly as two incidents of dog-bite occur daily in every part of the City. A large number of citizens have complained about the presence of stray dogs in their localities but none of the authorities is ready to take any action. Almost, all the residential areas of the City, besides the public places and parks, are facing the problem of stray dogs. Stray dogs have been a problem for the citizens for a long time but now, it appears, they are set on depriving citizens of the few good parks left in the City. The authorities seem helpless in this matter. Even the private clubs that are situated in mainstream parks which also impose hefty annual fees are unable to control the problem.
According to the law, stray dogs should be killed in order to keep the citizens safe. There is an Anti-Dog Squad of the City District Government Lahore (CDGL) which kills stray dogs if any complaint is registered with it.
Medical experts say dog-biting can kill one if one does not get anti-rabies immediately. Rabies is a severe viral disease caused by Rabdo Virus present in saliva of infected stray dogs and it transmits from dogs to human beings through bites, scratches or even licks and is fatal if not treated properly. The disease affects the central nervous system of most warm-blooded animals and victims of such animal bites have to be immediately vaccinated.
Shahzad Qazi, a resident of the UET Society, said that it was very difficult for him to go for a morning walk just because of stray dogs. He said that he had complained to the authorities concerned a number of times but they refused to come to the society saying that they had no transport facility for the purpose.
A visitor to Bagh-e-Jinnah, Faizan Kazi, complained of stray dogs that stormed into the club’s ground while he was playing cricket with his friends.
“We had to leave that place due to those stray dogs because they might bite us,” he said, adding that the authorities should ensure that the visitors could have a safe time in the park.
When contacted, District Officer (DO) Public Health Dr Tariq Ramazan told The News that the department had very limited resources to tackle the issue of stray dogs. Ramazan said the department had only four shooters to kill stray dogs while the it had not got any transport facility. He said that typically the teams assigned with killing stray dogs included former army sharpshooters and those who poisoned animals.
“They end up killing an average of 50 dogs a day,” he said, adding that currently, two teams had been assigned with the task to patrol two Lahore towns every day. Each team included two shooters and four men assigned to poison the animals, he said and added that the teams had to borrow vehicles of the National Program of Family Health Care department to complete the task of killing stray dogs.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Anti-Dog Squad, which carry poison with them to kill dogs, and Family Health Care department, which carry medicines and provide health care to citizens, both are using the same vehicles at the same time.
Ramazan said the Solid Waste Management workers picked the dead dogs from the streets to bury them. He said public awareness needed to be raised about the issue and that anyone who was bitten by a dog should immediately be taken to a hospital.
“All major hospitals now provide medical support to dog bite victims,” he said, adding that a Dog Bite Centre had recently been set up by the Institute of Public Health.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=49775&Cat=5&dt=5/30/2011
Monday, May 30, 2011
LAHORE
THE City District Government Lahore (CDGL) has failed to control the increasing number of stray dogs in the provincial metropolis as dog-bite incidents have increased considerably recently.
According to a survey conducted by The News, the number of stray dogs has been increasing rapidly as two incidents of dog-bite occur daily in every part of the City. A large number of citizens have complained about the presence of stray dogs in their localities but none of the authorities is ready to take any action. Almost, all the residential areas of the City, besides the public places and parks, are facing the problem of stray dogs. Stray dogs have been a problem for the citizens for a long time but now, it appears, they are set on depriving citizens of the few good parks left in the City. The authorities seem helpless in this matter. Even the private clubs that are situated in mainstream parks which also impose hefty annual fees are unable to control the problem.
According to the law, stray dogs should be killed in order to keep the citizens safe. There is an Anti-Dog Squad of the City District Government Lahore (CDGL) which kills stray dogs if any complaint is registered with it.
Medical experts say dog-biting can kill one if one does not get anti-rabies immediately. Rabies is a severe viral disease caused by Rabdo Virus present in saliva of infected stray dogs and it transmits from dogs to human beings through bites, scratches or even licks and is fatal if not treated properly. The disease affects the central nervous system of most warm-blooded animals and victims of such animal bites have to be immediately vaccinated.
Shahzad Qazi, a resident of the UET Society, said that it was very difficult for him to go for a morning walk just because of stray dogs. He said that he had complained to the authorities concerned a number of times but they refused to come to the society saying that they had no transport facility for the purpose.
A visitor to Bagh-e-Jinnah, Faizan Kazi, complained of stray dogs that stormed into the club’s ground while he was playing cricket with his friends.
“We had to leave that place due to those stray dogs because they might bite us,” he said, adding that the authorities should ensure that the visitors could have a safe time in the park.
When contacted, District Officer (DO) Public Health Dr Tariq Ramazan told The News that the department had very limited resources to tackle the issue of stray dogs. Ramazan said the department had only four shooters to kill stray dogs while the it had not got any transport facility. He said that typically the teams assigned with killing stray dogs included former army sharpshooters and those who poisoned animals.
“They end up killing an average of 50 dogs a day,” he said, adding that currently, two teams had been assigned with the task to patrol two Lahore towns every day. Each team included two shooters and four men assigned to poison the animals, he said and added that the teams had to borrow vehicles of the National Program of Family Health Care department to complete the task of killing stray dogs.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Anti-Dog Squad, which carry poison with them to kill dogs, and Family Health Care department, which carry medicines and provide health care to citizens, both are using the same vehicles at the same time.
Ramazan said the Solid Waste Management workers picked the dead dogs from the streets to bury them. He said public awareness needed to be raised about the issue and that anyone who was bitten by a dog should immediately be taken to a hospital.
“All major hospitals now provide medical support to dog bite victims,” he said, adding that a Dog Bite Centre had recently been set up by the Institute of Public Health.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=49775&Cat=5&dt=5/30/2011
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