3 bhopal hospitals get 1,000 dog bite cases every month

BHOPAL: With almost 1,000 cases of dog bite being reported in three main government hospitals of the state capital every month, the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) is yet to figure out a plan to reduce the increasing stray dog menace.
"We have at least 300 dog bite cases every month in Hamidia hospital," Dr D K Pal, hospital superintendent told TOI."Some of these cases are serious," he added.
Similarly, over 350 cases are registered in JP Hospital each month and the same number of cases are reported in the Bairagarh civil hospital.
"We are trying our best to get rid of stray dogs," Pramod Shukla, additional commissioner, BMC told TOI. "We have formed a committee of four members to suggest the ways and means to reduce the menace. The committee will be submitting its report in a month, based on which we will figure out a plan," he added.
The committee comprises Mayor-in-Council member Narayan Singh Pal, corporator Meena Yadav, veterinary doctor from the state veterinary hospital K S Tomar, Dr Neena Tripathi and member of Wildlife Welfare Association Neelam Kaur," he said.
The dog sterilization programme of the BMC seems to have lost have lost steam. Hardly 1 or 2 dogs are sterilized in a month, BMC sources claimed.
There is an estimated number of about 50,000 stray dogs in Bhopal. Of 2 dog catching vans, only one is functional. The BMC has a dog catching squad of 4-5 officials, he said.