The State government has come under intense fire after stray dogs savaged a disabled child, Nihal Nishad, to death in Kannur on Sunday.
Opposition parties accused the government of disregarding the growing stray dog menace in the State despite the threat to ordinary folk.
Social media also erupted in outrage, accusing an “apathetic government” of allowing the vaccination and sterilisation drive, launched with much fanfare in September as a “knee-jerk” reaction to a similar tragedy, to peter out slowly.
In an acerbic Facebook post, Union Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan said strays tore up the child even as Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan showcased Kerala as a model State to the expatriate Malayali community at Times Square in New York. “Luckily for him, there are no aggressive feral dogs in Times Square”, he said.
Mr. Muraleedharan said the government seemed focussed on foreign junkets and publicity campaigns instead of curbing the stray dog menace that spiralled out of control.
Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders pointed out that feral dogs menaced coastal communities, children on their way to school, pedestrians and senior citizens. The dogs also attacked livestock and poultry. The government seemed “unconcerned” despite a 2022 High Court order tasking the administration, including the police, with clearing public places of aggressive strays, they said.
Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan said the government’s animal birth control and anti-rabies vaccination drives have stalled due to government apathy.
Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala said the government was ill-equipped to handle the stray dog menace. “Anti-rabies vaccination and medication were expensive and in short supply. So were veterinarians and dog-catchers. There are no shelters for captured dogs,” he said.
The public relied heavily on private hospitals for medication. However, the efficacy of vaccines administered at government hospitals was suspect. Dog bite treatment was almost 200% dearer in the private sector, disadvantaging ordinary folk, he added.
Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president K. Sudhakaran said the number of dog bite victims in the State had increased exponentially due to the government’s abject failure to check the menace. He pegged the number at 35,000 annually.
Mr. Sudhakaran said the government’s vaccination and sterilisation programme for strays has remained on paper. Local bodies’ failure to dispose of waste, resulting in growing garbage piles, succoured the stray dog population, he alleged.
