Sindh government and Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) have failed to control dog bite cases, since a total of 7,310 dog bite cases have been registered in Pakistan’s financial capital hub in the past three months.
According to the sources at Sindh health department, in Karachi out of the total dog bite cases recorded, 2,660 were registered in Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), 2,800 at Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi and 1,850 in Indus Hospital Karachi.
As per details the dog bite cases are being reported from slum areas of Ibrahim Hyderi, Bhittai Colony, Korangi, Surjani, North Karachi, New Karachi, Baldia, Orangi, Keamari, Mehmoodabad, Liaquatabad, Federal B Area, Sohrab Goth, Orangi, Golimar and other areas.
The Sindh health department and KMC have miserably failed to launch a comprehensive campaign against stray dogs. In 2020, an estimated 200,000 dog bite cases were registered across the province, out of which majority of them were reported in Karachi, Naushehroferoze, Khairpur, Kashmore , Dadu and other districts.
Last month, the Sindh High Court (SHC) ruled that if any person was bitten by a dog anywhere in Sindh, the MPA of that area will be suspended.
Following this, the local government launched a massive dog-culling campaign in Sindh. In the first week of March alone, the Hyderabad Municipal Corporation killed over 500 stray dogs.
Following the campaign, animal rights activist Eric Shehzar pleaded to the Sindh govt that the federal government has given Rs.930 million for the vaccination of stray dogs but questioned that “If they are killing dogs, where has that money gone?”
On other hand a PTI lawmaker in Sindh Assembly has also called for a “grand operation” against stray dogs in metropolis through a letter to the top officials.
PTI’s MPA from PS-97 Korangi Raja Azhar Khan have also written a letter to the metropolis’ Commissioner, KMC Administrator, Deputy Commissioner Korangi and the CEO of the Cantonment Board Korangi Creek on this issue. However, despite constantly asking relevant officers to address the growing population of “stray and mad dogs in my constituency, PS-97” for the past two-and-a-half years, there has been no action in this regard, he lamented.
Korangi Creek residents are much worried due to the increasing number of stray dogs in the area. While talking to Daily Times, Bhittai Colony residents said that Cantonment Board’s officials are not taking any action against stray dogs and lamented that they must be waiting for the dog-bites cases to rise to kick start the operation.