Rabid dog attacks 7 persons in Yelandur, Chamarajanagar dist witnesses spike in dog bite cases

Mysuru

A rabid dog attacked seven including three elderly women at Yelandur town in Chamarajanagar district on Saturday.The elderly victims have been identified as Chowdamma of Yelandur  town, Lakshmamma of Y K Mole and Rathnamma of K Devarahalli, the other four were residents of surrounding villages of Yelandur town. The dog attacked them near the bus stand at Canara Bank circle in the town. It initially attacked Chowdamma who was returning home from a provision store, then targeted another two elderly women, when they were waiting for a bus and went on to bite seven individuals. The elderly women suffered wounds on their faces,  foreheads and also had deep cuts on their hands and legs. All the victims were rushed to  Yelandur town general hospital and their condition is stable.

Residents of Yelandur town demanded that the taluk administration control  the stray dog menace as stray dogs infected with rabies often display aggressive behavior and suffer from deteriorating health posing risks of fatal attack.  

According to officials, Chamarajanagar district reported 1,568 dog bite cases from January to June this year, compared to 3,268 cases last year. The stray dog menace is a growing challenge for urban municipal authorities. The City Municipal Council floated a tender three times under the animal birth control programme, but no NGO came forward.

According to taluk-wise reports, Chamarajanagar taluk reported 481 dog bite cases this year until June, Gundlupet reported 234, Hanur 236, Kollegal 617, and Yelandur 18 cases.

Though the state and Union govts have issued directions to civic bodies and local and district administrations to initiate regular measures to hold mass dog vaccinations and other measures to achieve rabies-free status, the Chamarajanagar local administration has failed to undertake both mass dog vaccination and sterilisation in recent years, according to locals. This has resulted in an increasing population of dogs as well as the stray dog menace and dog bite cases in the district. 

 Stray dogs also  killed 43 livestock, including goats, sheep and calves, in Chamarajanagar district over the past four months. Speaking to NT   , Chamarajanagar deputy director of animal husbandry and veterinary sciences Manjunath said that the department has compensated livestock owners for sheep, goats and calves killed in dog attacks across the district.