Stray dogs are proliferating in the capital including in the Blue Area and Red Zone which houses the most sensitive entities in the country including the Prime Minister and the President's House and Secretariat, the parliament, Supreme Court and most ministries.
Islamabad may soon be declared the stray dog capital of the world, one disgruntled resident told Business Recorder.
Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) has abandoned all attempts to deal with the growing population of stray dogs in the federal capital, including the Blue Area, which is becoming a big threat particularly for children and pedestrians, another stated. Director Sanitation MCI Sardar Khan Zimri told this correspondent that some non government organizations (NGO), working for animal rights, criticize MCI whenever it shoots/poisons dogs as inhumane, violative of the constitution, laws and Islamic principles, and uploads the video on social media and have also launched a case in the court. The NGOs suggests MCI construct shelters for stray dogs instead of killing them, he said adding that there is simply not enough funds for the purpose. "We don't even have enough money to buy the ammunition to kill all the strays," he stated. Zimri further stated that as per municipal bylaws, "we can only take action against stray dogs after receiving a complaint."
Dr Waseem Khwaja of Pakistan Institute of Medical Science (PIMS) told this correspondent that the capital's hospitals received cases of over 4,700 dog bites in 2018 including 3,600 adults and 1,100 children. "This year hospitals are receiving 25 to 30 cases of dog bites daily," he said. He added that the relevant department needs to take appropriate action against stray dogs in order to protect citizens from rabies as it is a caused by Rabdo-Virus in the saliva of the infected animal and is transmitted to human beings when bitten.
A senior official of the administration told this correspondent that the blame must be laid at the doorstep of the Director Sanitation as he is not acting on the rising number of complaints he is receiving especially after the news surfaced that there is a dearth of anti-rabies vaccine in the country. He said that Pakistan Citizens Portal of the Prime Minister has also received a large number of complaints with respect to growing number of stray dogs which were forwarded to the relevant authority for action.
According to a study annual number of dog bites in Pakistan is 100,000 to 150,000 of which 2000-5000 die of rabies every year. It is estimated that 2,000 to 5,000 people die in Pakistan of rabies disease every year as there is a frequent shortage of anti-rabies vaccines.
According to a survey conducted by Business Recorder, the number of stray dogs is rising in every sector of Islamabad including the posh F and E sectors as well as the less developed sectors such as I-9, I-10, I-8 and the outskirts of the city including Bhara Khahu.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2019
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