The Kashmir Pulse

SRINAGAR — A minor girl was mauled to death by stray dogs in Waghama area of Bijbehara in southern Kashmir's Anantnag district on Thursday.

An official informed the news agency KNO that a minor girl identified as Arshima (06), daughter of Ghulam Nabi Wani was attacked by stray dogs in her native village.

He said the girl sustained grievous injuries in the incident and was shifted to the hospital, where she was declared dead.

Meanwhile, the police have taken cognisance of the incident.

Following the incident, locals staged protests and demanded action from the government. They expressed frustration over the frequent presence of packs of dogs on roads.

"The increasing numbers of these stray dogs pose a grave threat to the lives of people. Movement, especially during morning and evening hours, has become difficult for children, elders, and women," said a local woman.

Residents alleged that the mysterious rise in the dog population was due to their transportation from urban areas during night hours.

“This has made life difficult for us. There is a fear among our children who are unable to move freely due to the presence of these dogs,” Shakeel Ahmad, a resident, said.

Locals appealed to the concerned authorities to tackle the menace promptly for the convenience of the people. "It has become difficult during morning and evening hours to move around freely. Due to the large number of dogs, people, especially the elderly and children, feel unsafe venturing out of their homes," said another local.

Despite several attempts to bring the issue to the attention of higher authorities, no action has been taken, residents lamented. They once again urged authorities to address the problem immediately.

This post first appeared on The Kashmir Pulse

SRINAGAR — Srinagar Mayor, Junaid Azim Mattu, on Wednesday said that the city will get rid of the stray dog population within 6 to 7 years as the corporation is set to kick-start a sterilization process at a large scale very shortly.

He also announced that the macadamization of Srinagar roads will be completed within a period of one month.

Addressing a presser here, Mattu, as per the news agency Kashmir News Observer (KNO), said that the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) has been taken to new heights in the last couple of years.

“The corporators have been elected to serve people of Srinagar after a gap of 10 years. We will meet all the challenges and have met many challenges so far which has helped in taking Srinagar to 10th rank, which is a proud moment for all the residents here,” he said.

Mattu further said that in the last few years, he tried to take the SMC ahead of other civic bodies in the country. However, he said, the corporation couldn’t deal with some major issues including stray dog menace and the macadamization process.

“The dog bite cases deeply pains me. I have taken a decision to form a multi-agency consultative board to deal with the stray dog menace and initiate its final report within three months. It would be the biggest programme,” he said, adding that he has invited SKUAST scientists and veterinary experts to start the process within a month to ensure that the people in Srinagar could heave a sigh of relief from the menace.

He added that the consultative board will meet next week and two meetings will be conducted in one week and he will personally monitor the progress. “If this programme succeeds, within six to seven years, we will get rid of the stray dogs' population in Srinagar.”

He also termed the allegations of relocation of dogs from Srinagar to villages as baseless.

“The Corporation is facing macadamization challenge, the roads are in shambles and there is no doubt over it. We had started a process of macadamization in lanes and bylanes at large scale in March but the hot mix plants and contractors have decided not to bid for these tenders at the current rates. I have spoken to the Chief Secretary personally and macadamization rates are being revised in two to three days. We are keen to resolve this issue and start macadamization of lanes and bylanes within the period of a month,” he said.

About the enforcement, he said that there is no double standard in enforcement and no interference will be allowed. “We will try to ensure transparency and accountable governance,” he said.

This post first appeared on The Kashmir Pulse