Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court has expressed strong displeasure over the increasing number of stray dog attacks on children in Hyderabad.
The court directed the state government and Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) to take immediate action to address the stray dog menace and prevent such incidents.
On Jawaharnagar incident
The court was particularly anguished by the recent death of an 18-month-old boy in Jawaharnagar after being attacked by a pack of stray dogs. It has ordered the authorities to inform the court within 10 days about the steps being taken to stop these attacks and protect children.
“Be serious in addressing the issues faced by the people. We will not tolerate anyone who is negligent in this matter,” stated a bench consisting of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice J Anil Kumar as they resumed their hearing in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) they had taken up last year.
The court has asked authorities to take immediate action and adopt a practical approach to address the issue of stray dogs.
The bench suggested that while sterilizing stray dogs to control their birth rate and administering anti-rabies injections are important measures, they alone are not sufficient to prevent ferocious stray dogs from attacking people, especially children.
The court pointed out that improper waste disposal on roadsides is a major contributing factor to the increasing stray dog population. It directed the authorities to ensure proper waste disposal and maintain clean surroundings.
Around 3.8 L stray dogs under GHMC: Govt
The government stated that there are approximately 380,000 stray dogs within the GHMC limits and relocating them to shelters is not feasible.
The court directed GHMC to set up an expert committee to study the problem and devise solutions to address the stray dog menace.
The judges expressed serious concern over the deaths of toddlers and young children in stray dog attacks and asked GHMC to study the prevalence of the problem from a humanitarian perspective.
They made it clear that the court is more interested in scientific studies and solutions instead of statistics on the number of sterilizations done.
The court has scheduled the next hearing for next week and directed the authorities to return with a concrete action plan to protect children from stray dogs.
