Barking dogs seldom bite proves false!
Jattan Singh Gill
The assurance that the people felt on J&K High Court's direction to the Government and its public health offices for ensuring the availability of life-saving Anti-Rabies Vaccines and Human Rabies Immunoglobulin injections, finally proved short-lived.
The Director Health Services Jammu miserably failed to get the Anti-rabies vaccines in the District Hospitals, Sub-district Hospitals and Primary Health Centres despite the court's directions thus rendering the human lives exposed to grave danger. He had passed on the buck to Chief Medical Officers in each district to procure the vaccines on their own, who in turn, have not done anything.
This sensitive issue was discussed by the Commissioner Secretary Health, Mr. Pawan Kotwal few days back in a review meeting at District Hospital, Gandhi Nagar Jammu wherein he had directed all the concerned to ensure the availability of these vital life saving vaccines.
In the second week of March this year, a Division Bench presided by the then Chief Justice Badar Durrez Ahmed and Justice Ali Mohammad Magray, after perusal of the affidavit of Health and Medical Education Department said that the position of Jammu Division was shocking because most of the institutions do not have stocks of these vaccines. The HC had directed to rectify the scenario forthwith. The Bench directed the Director, Health Services, Jammu to immediately take steps and file the report before the court.
High Court directions stirred some action and JK Medical Supplies Corporation (JKMSC) floated tenders inviting supplies of Anti-Rabies vaccines which did not materialize. Pertinently, it was a Herculean Task to find any working telephone numbers of JKMSC offices at Jammu or Srinagar for obtaining comments of its Managing Director. With overwhelming efforts, this correspondent reached an official of the Corporation who confirmed that there was no bidder to offer supplies and on inquiring, the known supplier-companies expressed their inability due to their hands being full and shortage of ingredients/capacity. Replying to as why the process could not be initiated earlier, he said the mandate of the Corporation is to procure the essential medical related items only when it got requisition from the end-user departments/institutions.
A common saying ‘a stitch in time saves nine' applies perfectly to Jammu Kashmir Health Department that lacked foresight and planning to meet such an eventuality.
At Directorate's end, after obtaining a NOC from the JKMSC, they floated a Short Term Tender on June 26, 2018 for supplying the Anti-Rabies Vaccine, which again met its fate with no supplier coming forward till date. For Health Directorate the matter has ended.
The HC had observed that the management of Anti-Rabies Vaccines is not being done properly but the Court left the matter confined to filing of fresh affidavit with regard to the action taken in the matter. As per common ritual prevalent in our state, the Directorate would safely file another Affidavit telling the court that they had floated the tender but there was no taker to offer supplies thus whining about this helpless situation.
A medico in a nearby district, on condition of anonymity, asked a pertinent question. “Whose responsibility is this if those sitting in the high offices shun the duties for which they have been assigned lucrative posts with fat pays and perks? Where should a commoner go in this welfare state?”
Dr Dinesh Kumar, Professor & Head, Department of Community Medicine, Govt. Medical College Jammu said, “The incidents of animal bites are on rapid increase and situation is serious as the animal bite cases may cross over ten thousand this year, but our department is administering Anti-rabies vaccine free of cost to all patients with proper wound care and counselling. The services in the section are available from 8 am to 8 pm in summers and 10 am to 8 pm in winters 24 x 7.”
Jammu Division faces both stray dogs as well as monkey menace. Biting incidents are very common so the availability of these important life saving vaccines was paramount. In other words, in the absence of the availability of such vaccines and injections, the human life stood in perils.
In case of a dog bite or any other rabid animal bite, you may not get timely treatment even at the District Hospitals across the state including Jammu District Hospital at Gandhi Nagar, Civil Hospital Sarwal with exception however, at Government Medical College Jammu. The situation has been worst in the sub-district and block medical dispensaries.
It is nearly eight months now, that the civil hospitals have been running out of the anti-rabies vaccines. In some cases, only the first dose of the vaccine is available while those coming for the remaining doses are returning with no treatment.
If the patient comes immediately after a dog bite, then three injections are shot and if the patient comes after few days, then five injections are administered. Getting all doses is very important and one should not leave the treatment in between.
On the basis of feedback taken over phone from various CMOs, Medical Superintendents of District Hospitals eight districts and six primary health centres randomly in Jammu province, none of the District or sub-district hospitals reported having anti-rabies vaccinations.
Patients interviewed by our correspondents outside District Hospitals Kathua, Udhampur, Samba and Rajouri who paid repeated visits to the hospitals said, the doctors kept asking them to visit after every few days but the injections were not available. “I am only hopeful that the supply of injections is received in the coming week,” one of patients said at Kathua.
At an average, nearly 40 to 50 patients go back home daily (Except GMC/Jammu city) without getting the second or third required dose of anti-rabies except those who can afford buying the vaccine from the market. The cost of each anti-rabies vaccination varies between Rs. 325 to 450 depending upon the company/brand.
Senior Advocate, Sh. Ashok Vijay Gupta commented over the unfateful situation by saying, “Situation reflects the dereliction of duty by public servants. It is a sorry state of affairs that after the cognizance taken by Hon'ble High Court, the authorities are showing helplessness. It is a serious offence and warrants contempt of court proceedings against the Commissioner Health and Directorate of Health Services for taking refuge under the cover of excuses.”
Former Minister and MLA Sh. Sukhnandan had already expressed his serious concern over the unavailability of such life saving vaccines in the towns and muffasil areas leaving peoples to bear the brunt of government's failure. Noted Political activist Mr. Sunil Dimple has termed it as failure of state which is duty bound to protect the lives of its citizens. He demanded severe actions against those who were supposed to foresee such crisis but failed to perform. They have left the human beings to the mercy of canines.
- Beware! Over 51000 stray dogs roaming Jammu city streets!
In addition to the vaccines, the prime need is to sterilize hordes of dogs and monkeys on daily basis to contain their growing numbers that has posed grave danger to people especially the children.
Going by the information shared by Dr. Zaffar Iqbal heading the Veterinary Department, Jammu Municipal Corporation, the situation is grim. Dr. Iqbal said as per a census done by JMC through a Nanded (Maharastra) based NGO SPCA, there were over 51000 stray dogs roaming in the streets of Jammu endangering human lives. “We had sterilized 14029 stray dogs (5266 males and 8763 female) upto February 2018 and after a halt would resume further,” he said. On huge increase in the population of stray canines, he said, on an average, a bitch if delivers puppies twice a year for three years the cumulative increase in the dogs population will be 600.
