Yet another shocking case of a stray dog attack has been reported from Thandikassi area of Rajouri, where a one-year-old child has sustained injuries after being bitten by a canine. Though the child was immediately brought to the Anti-Rabies Section of GMC Rajouri with a Category-III dog bite injury on the face just below the right eye and has received prompt and appropriate medical treatment but this incident has again highlighted the problem of stray dog menace for which the apex court in the country has given certain directions.
Reportedly, the Supreme Court Bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and N.V. Anjaria has recently given indication that it would impose “heavy compensation” on States and also fix accountability on individuals feeding stray dogs in cases involving dog-bite injuries or fatalities. The court has also observed that why not those who feed stray dogs should also ensure that these canines should remain well within their houses and premises and not pose a threat to people outside.
The country’s top court has taken the matter very seriously but then also things seem to have not changed on ground as just a couple of days before the Supreme Court has slammed animal activist and former Union Minister Maneka Gandhi for her remarks on the court’s observations in the stray dogs case during a podcast.
With most of the people including the concerned authorities remaining unconcerned over the issue and many of the so-called animal lovers not taking the apex court’s observations with the right perspective, it becomes necessary for the common man to take the responsibility on his or her own shoulders by remaining careful against stray dogs and in case of a bite or attack, go for immediate medical remedy including wound washing, administering Anti-Rabies Vaccine (ARV) and Anti-Rabies Serum (ARS) as per standard protocol because stray dog bites must be treated with extreme caution and as a medical emergency due to the high risk of rabies, which is almost 100 percent fatal once symptoms appear, yet 100 percent preventable with timely and right treatment.
As far as the Jammu and Kashmir government is concerned, it is a bounded duty of the helmsmen to shun lethargy with regard to this significant issue and take immediate and effective measures for the control and management of stray dog population to ensure 100 per cent prevention of such incidents.
The presence of brigades of stray dogs in every mohalla and locality is a stark reality across the Union Territory therefore remaining alert and safe is the only wise measure that every single citizen should take until someone in the dispensation takes appropriate steps to get rid of these canines from the streets of villages, towns and cities of the Union Territory.
