Margaoites worry over stray dog menace

MARGAO: Even as Hospicio's register states that the hospital admits 85 to 90 cases of dog bite victims in a month, health authorities fear that the figure may be three times higher, as the commercial capital has an estimated population of 5,000 stray dogs within the jurisdiction of the Margao Municipal Council (MMC).
A senior doctor at the hospital confirmed that, there has been an increase in the number of dog-bite victims referred for anti-rabies vaccine and also treatment of serious bites.
"Around 80 to 90 cases of dog bite are reported at the hospital's casualty ward per month. Apart from the Hospicio, many people get treated at private clinics. They also seek treatment from some alternative medicine practitioners, which makes getting actual figures even more difficult," said the senior physician, indicating that the figures of dog bites will be thrice more than the recorded figure.
Stray dog bite cases have increased in recent times and most of the cases are in urban areas. "Children are particularly at risk, and it is sad to see children mauled even on the face," the doctor added.
Social activist and former MMC president Santosh Raiturcar says that the problem has reached alarming proportions in some wards due to poor sanitation.
"Though canines are all around the city, the concentration of stray dogs is more in densely populated wards of Comba, Aquem, Borda, Gogol, SGDPA and municipal market. Indiscriminate dumping of meat waste in dust bins located near market areas contribute further to the menace," he said.
While health authorities, citizens and social activists express concern over the steady increase of stray dog population within MMC limits, and feel the lack of adequate efforts to tackle the menace by authorities, chief officer Prasanna Acharya told TOI that the civic body has implemented measures in the form of establishing a shelter for stray dogs at Agalli in Fatorda.
"The 5.65 lakh project to undertake Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme was commissioned in March 2009. The shelter has 20 cages with adequate facilities for sterilization," he informed.
The shelter is run by a NGO, South Goa Welfare Trust for Animals (SGWTA). Shelter in-charge Sandra Fernandes, however, said that the problem of rabid dogs is not a major concern in Margao.
"We caught two rabid dogs last month acting on complaints. There were no cases of bites," she said.
"Most dog bite victims admitted at Hospicio are cases where people were bit by pet dogs. It is sad that many people who keep pets do not vaccinate them. Hospicio should infact stop admitting patients who bit by pets," she said.
Fernandes further says that the facilities at the shelter are inadequate.
"The MMC is aware that around 2,000 square meters is required for a shelter in a big town like Margao, which has a stray dog population of over 5,000. Also some dogs have to be kept at the shelter, for which we require more cages. Right now, we have 20 cages and one of them is reserved for rabid dogs," she said.