3.17 lakh people sought treatment for dog bite cases in the State in 2024
Following the death of one more child due to rabies after a stray dog bite, the increasing number of stray dogs in the State is in the spotlight again.
The mother of the seven-year-old girl from Pathanapuram in Kollam district raised the issue of waste dumping near her house which led to stray dogs frequenting the area and her daughter getting bitten by them.
As per the State government's data which was presented by Minister for Local Self-Governments M.B. Rajesh in the Assembly earlier this year, as many as 3.17 lakh people sought treatment from government hospitals in the State in 2024 for dog bite-related cases.
Thiruvananthapuram district is way ahead of the other districts in the number of dog bite cases, with a total of 50,870 people seeking treatment. Kollam is in second place with 37,618 dog bite cases, Ernakulam had 32,086 cases, Palakkad had 31,303 cases and Thrissur 29,363 cases. Wayanad was last on the list with 5,719 cases.
Satheesan's charge
Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan in a statement here on Monday said that the number of stray dogs in the State had increased to such an extent that people were afraid to venture out. The local bodies are also lax in controlling the number of stray dogs as the government is not providing adequate funds, he said.
The government was not ready to take the issue seriously even after the Opposition raised it several times in the Assembly. Kerala is experiencing the tragic consequences of this today. The government should at least be ready to implement a multidisciplinary disease control system to control rabies. The government should remember that it cannot evade responsibility for the deaths of children, said Mr. Satheesan.
Minister's demand
Mr. .Rajesh on Monday reiterated his earlier demand to the Union government to amend Animal Birth Control (ABC) rules to make it less stringent regarding the conditions for opening ABC centres.
'Kerala had over 900 ABC centres. However, with the stipulations in the new ABC rules, including air conditioned operation theatre for sterilisation and veterinarians with seven years of experience, many of these had to be closed down. Another problem we are facing is the opposition from the local population in most places that local bodies have tried to set up ABC centres. We have no dearth of funds to open ABC centres, but when the local population is against it, local bodies find it hard to set them up,' said Mr. Rajesh.
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