Sir,
The J&K Govt has to come up with large scale interventions that can deal with the issue of stray dogs. According to one research report 45 percent of death takes place from rabies in South East Asia, out of which 36 percent takes place in India. People in the city blame the administration for not implementing animal control policies, including spaying which could have possibly helped avoid some of the current problems. The incidents of rabies in J&K have been on rise because in India rabies is still not a notifiable disease.
The biggest reason behind the problem is open garbage. Stray dogs rely on garbage while hunting for eatables. In those countries that have kept garbage in bins and are cleaned regularly see lesser number of stray dogs. India also has fewer Govt and NGO services that deal with stray dogs. Rule for prevention of cruelty to animals that came in 1960 was amended in the year 2017, but the judicious implementation of regulations needs to be renewed and implemented in a more organised way. Even though animal welfare groups are serious about the issue, the Govt still needs to do a lot. The initiative to help stray dogs needs lot of funding from the Govt. Besides, it should build a shelter for such animal and not keep them on streets. Secondly, they should sterilize the animals to stop the population.
Mool Raj Bhagota
Panjsoo (Doda)
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