Noida: Due to the huge population of dogs in Uttar Pradesh — more than 20 lakh strays and over 4 lakh domestic dogs — cases of dog bites are also increasing, according to the Urban Development Department.
According to a state government report, there are three stray dogs for every 100 persons. The estimated population of stray dogs in Uttar Pradesh is 20,59,261 and domestic dogs is 4,22,129.
The state government is also worried about how to manage the increasing population of stray dogs.
Uttar Pradesh tops the stray dog count with 20.59 lakh, followed by 17.34 lakh in Odisha, 12.76 lakh in Maharashtra, 12.75 lakh in Rajasthan, 11.41 lakh in Karnataka, 11.04 lakh in West Bengal, 10.09 lakh in Madhya Pradesh, 8.64 lakh in Andhra Praesh and 6.96 lakh in Bihar.
The figures are directly related to the growing number of incidents of dog bites in these states.
Despite the government spending crores of rupees on sterilising dogs every year, the number of dog bite cases in the city remains high.
The most common reason why a dog attacks is because of aggression due to starvation, relocation or abandonment.
Several measures need to be implemented by the government bodies to ensure that such attacks do not take place.
The first step is sterilisation of street dogs. When their population is limited then dog attacks will also decrease.
The second is to provide food and water to the dogs. In the summer days, dogs crave for every single drop of water. If they get food and water, their aggression will automatically reduce.
The third step is to ban relocation by giving strict instructions to the municipal corporations.
The fourth is to make people aware of the community dog concept, which means encouraging people to adopt more dogs and take care of their food and water needs. By giving shelter to such dogs the population of stray dogs will decrease and it will also have many benefits.
For example, other dogs will not enter a society because dogs guard their territory. Incidents of dog bites will come down and colonies will also get free ‘watchmen’.
–IANS