Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Long queues of panicking people, with a majority of children with bruises and scratches all over their body, crying their lungs out after getting bitten by stray dogs, these scenes prevail in city hospitals after a rise in dog menace.
According to the data released by the city hospitals, a total of 29 dog bite incidents were reported in March 2022, which surged to 1,467 in the previous March and a horrifying 2,496 this March.
These figures indicate a nearly 85-fold increase in instances of dog bites from 2022 till 2024. The data provided by the hospitals also revealed that a total of 8,124 dog bite instances were reported in 2022, which almost doubled to 16,387 in 2023. With already 6,728 dog bite cases reported in the first three months of 2024, the situation raises alarm where stray dog bites have become a routine.
When contacted, veterinary officer at the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC), SK Shrivastava, said the time till June is utmost crucial as summer has begun with which the stray dogs are expected to turn more ferocious. Apart from this, when other BMC officials were contacted, they said absence of feeding points in the city also contributes to stray dogs’ ferocity.
On the other hand, the BMC dog squad does not seem to care even two hoots in identifying the areas prone to dog bite incidents. Dog squad in-charge Rakesh Sharma replied to a question raised by Free Press, saying, “Whenever any dog bite case is reported from any corner of the city, the canine-trapping vehicle is sent there to capture the dog.” This implies that BMC officials just rely on people’s information in capturing the life-threatening canines.
Apart from this, a more worrisome issue is that following all the 2,496 dog bite cases reported from Bhopal, the dog squad managed to lay their hands on just 15 dogs.
