Srinagar, June 15: She tries to speak but cries in pain. 17-year-old Shabab Zehra of Shamaswari Safa Kadal is bedridden at Bone and Joint Hospital Barzulla. For this schoolgirl, Srinagar’s two main fear factors came together: Chased by stray packs, she was hit by a speeding tipper leaving her critically wounded.
 Though medicos have performed a major surgery, they said she is feared to lose her right leg because most of the flesh was torn away by the gigantic tyres of the speeding tipper.
 This is the second deadly attack by stray dogs in the area within a month after the death of a 30-year-old man who jumped into Jhelum when chased by canines only to be fished out with a body swollen beyond recognition several days after the incident.
 As about tippers, they are often accused of reckless driving and hardly bear a number plate. About this incident, SP north City Tahir Salim Khan said the accused driver Abdul Hameed Dar has been caught and the tipper (JK 01 G 0388) seized.

THE INCIDENT
 Zehra, a class 12th student was on way to her tuition classes when the incident happened Wednesday morning at around 6:30 AM. She was donning white uniform because from tuitions she used to go straight to school. But fate had something else in store for her. “I was walking along the footpath,” this is all Zehra could whisper and instantly cried in pain.
 She was scared by stray packs who, as per witnesses, suddenly barked at her. Scared, the girl jumped. And this was when the speeding tipper hit her.
 The tipper didn’t stop but like most other cases fled from the spot. Zehra was lying in pool of blood and dogs were about to bite her. But then there came a rescue.
 A woman who was reciting Holy Quran near window of her house is believed to have been intermittingly keeping an eye on this girl walking alone amid scores of stray dogs.
 As the teenager was hit by tipper the woman came rushing out of her house shouting for help. This grabbed attention of some early risers who rushed the wounded girl to B&J Barzulla. In the meantime, someone informed the victim’s family who too ran for hospital.

SCENE AT HOSPITAL
 Zehra has been admitted vide MRD No 2900 dated 13-6-2012. She has already undergone surgery wherein doctors have placed several steel pins in the fractured leg, ankle and feet in a bid to save it.
 “But flesh on the bone is hardly anywhere and there’s every possibility that she may loose her leg,” said a senior orthopaedician requesting not to be named.
 “Or else she’ll have to undergo a series of plastic surgeries in a bid to get her bone covered with flesh,” he added.

HELPLESS FAMILY
 Saving her limb, medicos said, will need multiple plastic surgeries. But to bear the expenses of the costly procedures seems impossible for the girl whose father Syed Kifayat Hussain works as a labourer in Ladakh. He has to feed a family including his wife, three daughters, eldest of whom is Zehra.
 In fact the poor father is yet to know about the tragedy. For now her grandfather Syed Muhammad and other family members are looking after the girl.

 PUBLIC OUTCRY
 But her cries seem to have made everyone concerned about the victim, at least in the hospital ward. Manzoor Ahmed, an attendant from south Kashmir’s Anantnag district is one of them. Though his own son, an infant Irfan Manzoor with some congenital problem is admitted in the same ward, the man says Zehra’s plight pains him more.
 “I saw her when she was rushed into hospital. There was no flesh on her bones,” the man says.

GOVT CONCERN
 In the meantime some of the attendants present in the ward turned emotional as to how stray dogs have emerged as a big risk to the lives of people but the government seems to be more concerned towards the welfare of canines than humans, around a dozen of whom fall prey to bites almost everyday. 

THE COMPARISON
 The government concern towards dogs could be compared with the death of infants at children’s hospital at Sonawar. While earlier this year, the district and the divisional administration mostly shot letters for probe into deaths at the hospital for human kids, senior officials personally made it to Shuhama dog pound to know about the welfare of sterilized dogs.

BOTTOMLINE
 While humans continue to be victims of record breaking dog attacks and many have died, a million dollar question posed last year by the then Chief Justice FM Ibraheem Kalifullah remains unanswered: Will a dog stop biting after sterilization?

Lastupdate on : Fri, 15 Jun 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 15 Jun 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sat, 16 Jun 2012 00:00:00 IST