Unlike in other parts of the State, students of Koothali in Kozhikode did not go to school on Monday. A day before, the area reported four stray dog bites, and there was one rabies death six months ago. It prompted the Koothali Panchayat to declare a holiday for educational institutions within its limits on Monday.
“We had four dog bite cases reported on Sunday. As there was a rabies death six months ago, we were concerned about sending children to school the next day, especially since we could not track the dogs that bit people,” Anoop Kumar V.M, vice-president of Koothali Panchayat, told The Hindu.
Three of the dog bites took place in Ward 3 of the panchayat while the fourth one was reported from Ward 8 of nearby Changaroth panchayat.
“Students here usually walk to their schools and only a few of them take any sort of vehicle,” he added.
Six months ago, six people were bitten by a single dog in the panchayat and one of the victims died after 15 days.
The panchayat invoked a rare provision by which it can declare a holiday in the event of a disaster and compensate with a working day later. One of the dogs was captured on Monday from a rubber plantation, only after it bit one more person.
“We have arranged for students to be picked up by buses or for parents to drop them for a few days. Animal Birth Control programme is being carried out in the panchayat though it is not an immediate solution,” he said. Besides, the local body is seeking the intervention of the judiciary in the issue and an order to kill rabid dogs.
