STERILIZATION OF STRAY DOGS IN SRINAGAR: HC seeks status report from SMC

The High Court on Monday directed the Srinagar Municipal Corporation to inform the court about the time within which the civic body would sterilise all the dogs of the Srinagar city.   

The court also directed the SMC to take help from Animal Welfare Board for providing expertise for catching the dogs so that they are sterilized and immunized.  

   

The court sought in this regard status report from the SMC as well as Animal Welfare Board by the next date of hearing. It also directed SKUAST Kashmir to cooperate in this endeavor.    

Hearing a Public Interest Litigation by advocate A R Hanjura, a division bench of Justice Badar Durrez Ahmed and Justice Ali Muhammad Magrey said the dogs are to be subjected to sterilization so that they won’t multiply. 

Expressing dissatisfaction over non-implementation of its directions with regard to sterilization of dogs and rabies immunization, the court said despite its directions on 15th October, 2011, no status report has been filed.     

“The SMC shall file status report with regard to sterilization and rabies immunization done by it in three years”.   

With regard to its direction that stray dogs should be housed in dog pounds, the court observed that it appears there is only one pound operational at Shuhama. Citing the SMC figures that there are 40,000 to 45,000 dogs in the Srinagar city, the court said it would be inadequate for such an extremely large number of dogs. 

The court sought from the government a clear cut plan of action along with timeline in this regard by the next date of hearing.   

Seeking a status report, the Court ordered the SMC to ensure that the directions it has passed on separate public Interest litigation are implemented so that loose garbage is not found along streets, near the hospitals and on roads and other residential areas. 

The court also directed the Health department to inform it by the next date of hearing about the availability anti-rabies vacancies and human rabies immunoglobulin injections in all dispensaries and hospitals in the state.   

Miffed over the inaction of not giving wide publicity to what a person should do in case a stray dog bites him or her, the court termed it unfortunate on part of the SMC. 

The court directed the SMC to give wide publicity of the issue in print media particularly in Urdu newspapers with wide circulations in Srinagar city. 

“This must be done not as one time measure but as continuing activity from time to time. Apart from this public awareness must be created through Radio, Television, and Social media,” the Court said, seeking status report on plan of action in this regard.  

In October last year, the court had directed the SMC to create awareness that the moment a child or any individual is bitten by a dog he should be immediately taken to the hospital.

On 12 March, 2013, the High Court had directed the Jammu and Kashmir Animal Welfare Board to constitute a team of experts in a week on suggestion of its executive committee to provide a remedial solution to dog menace in the summer capital

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