ગુજરાતી
English
Dog population is increasing, bite incidents are increasing by 20 percent every year
1400 people died due to rabies?
Ahmedabad
In Gujarat, dog bite incidents are increasing by 20 to 30 percent every year. Sterilization is done to reduce the birth rate of dogs, yet since 2001, the problem of dog bites is increasing instead of getting solved. Governments of big cities spend, but 250 small cities and 18 thousand villages are not able to spend. Still, there are 30 lakh incidents of dog bites in Gujarat and it is estimated that 1500 patients die due to rabies. The state government does not provide any funds. It does monitor, but has failed to develop a dog bite free mentality for 25 years. A law banning keeping dogs in cities and imposing heavy fines and punishment should be introduced in the next assembly.
Death
Every year 20 thousand people die in India due to rabies.
In 2024, 37 lakh people were bitten by dogs. There was an increase of 22 percent in this.
In 2021, 17 lakh 1 thousand 133 people were bitten by dogs.
In 2020, 46 lakh 33 thousand 493 people were bitten by dogs.
In 2019, 72 lakh 77 thousand people were bitten by dogs.
Out of 1000 people, 6 people have been bitten by some animal or the other. Every year about 91 lakh people are bitten by animals in the country.
There are 3 crore 50 lakh stray dogs in the country. There are 1 crore pet dogs.
Gujarat
It can be estimated from the statistics of the country that 1500 people die due to dog bites in Gujarat.
Gujarat has 40 lakh dogs of all types. Most of them are bitten by dogs. Every day 464 people are bitten by dogs in the state. On an average, 464 people are bitten by dogs per day and 19 people per hour. There were 17 lakh incidents in 2021, 30 lakh incidents in 2023. An increase of 80 percent.
Penalty in the country
If there was a law to give compensation in the country, then municipal corporations would have to pay compensation ranging from Rs 3,700 crore to Rs 10 thousand crore.
Law
Dogs that bite, chase, straight on the road cannot be caught and removed from that area, they are banned, there is strict protection of law, but citizens cannot protect themselves from dog bites. Dogs bite as much as snakes do not bite. Bites lead to death.
Punishment
A four-month-old girl died tragically in an attack by a pet Rottweiler dog in a residential society in Ahmedabad. The incident was captured on CCTV and the police have registered a case. Immediately report any incident of dog bite to the nearest police station. The police should investigate the incident by registering a DDR (daily diary report). The Municipal Corporation or Municipality office should be reported. The government should create a dog website to register complaints online.
Under Section 289 of the IPC, the owner is responsible for the act of the pet. Under this section, there can be a fine of up to one thousand rupees or six months imprisonment or both.
In 2022, there were 58,668 incidents of dog bites in Ahmedabad. The Gujarat government should also implement this rule.
Verdict
The Punjab and Haryana High Court had given a verdict in November 2023 for compensation in dog bite incidents. A compensation of Rs 10,000 will be given for each tooth mark.
Due to the risk of contracting an incurable, dreadful disease like rabies from dog bites, no citizen takes the risk of getting treatment at home without taking injections. There is a shortage of anti-rabies vaccines.
Virus
Rabies is caused by the pellet-shaped rabies virus which is present in the saliva of a rabid animal. After a bite from a rabid animal, the virus from the saliva gets deposited on the wound of the bitten person. There are deaths from rabies all over the world, 36% of which occur in India. Rabies is not found in Europe, America, Japan, South Korea and some Latin American countries. Rabies is a 100% fatal disease. Rabies leads to death.
When rabies occurs, its symptoms include stiffness in the body, persistent fever and tremors in the body, and saliva also drips from the person’s mouth. The person also starts barking like a dog. Therefore, the patient is very afraid of water. It is also very difficult to control a person suffering from rabies.
Rabies Vaccine and Treatment
When a dog bites, the bite wound should be washed immediately with soap and water. The dog’s saliva contains the virus, which is removed with water and soap. Soap or detergent soap kills the virus. Detergent soap is more alkaline and breaks down the lipid (fat) layer on the virus.
An antiseptic medicine is then applied. It inactivates the virus. Get anti-rabies vaccine.
After a dog bite, get 7 doses of anti-rabies vaccine, one on the day of the bite, then on the third, seventh, fourteenth, twenty-first, second and forty-second day.
If the dose is not taken after only 2 to 3 doses, the chances of getting rabies increase, so it is important to complete this 7 dose course.
Applying turmeric and neem leaves on the wound will drive the virus inside. Do not use kerosene, diesel, tea or red chilli powder.
Incidents
2023- Stray dogs killed two women in three days in Bhavnagar
In Juhapura, Ahmedabad, dogs picked up a child sleeping in a horse cart of a labourer family and ran away.
Dog
A 2-year-old girl died due to dog bite.
In Junagadh, dogs mauled two children to death.
In 2022, a mother went to fetch water in Vadodara and a dog scratched the head of a 5-month-old girl.
Expense
Ahmedabad:
In 2022, 58,125 incidents of dog bites were reported in Ahmedabad.
In the year 2022-23, the city of Ahmedabad spent Rs 35.15 crore. Which is the highest expenditure in the whole country. Still dogs are biting.
In 2023-24, Rs 49.66 crore was allocated for dogs in Ahmedabad.
Rs 1.5 crore is spent on sterilization.
Despite such a high cost, 120 to 130 dogs are sterilized daily in Ahmedabad. For sterilization, dogs are brought to a dog hostel and kept for 4 days. Where castration is done after giving necessary medical treatment. And the dog’s ears are cut for identification.
Surat:
In Surat city, 30,300 dogs have been vaccinated and sterilized in 5 years. On which Rs 3 crore 28 lakh 60 thousand 204 were spent. Rs 1191 was spent on one dog. At the same time, 50-70 dogs were biting every day.
There are 50 to 70 incidents of dog bites in Surat city every day. From April 2022 to March 2023, 10,255 dogs were caught. In which 22,503 dog bite incidents occurred.
In 2023, there were 18 thousand dog bite incidents. In Surat, 33,761 dogs were caught in five years and Rs 3.28 crore was spent on them.
The Animal Husbandry Department said that there are 2754 dogs in 101 wards of Surat city. This data is from a survey conducted in 2018. The municipality does not conduct surveys. Surveys are only 40 percent accurate. Only the dogs seen on the street are counted. What people say is what is written.
Rajkot:
Rajkot Municipal Corporation has an animal control branch. The number of stray dogs on the street is around 30 thousand. Rs 1 crore is spent on this annually.
Regular sterilization is being done since 2008. So far 70 thousand dogs have been sterilized. However, there are 30 thousand dogs in the city.
In Rajkot city, 11 thousand 292 people were bitten by dogs in 8 months, out of which 4 thousand 228 were given free injections at the Municipal Corporation and the rest at the Civil Hospital. As against 1,000 incidents per month, 1,400 dog bite incidents occurred this year. In Rajkot, dog bite incidents increased by 34 percent in two years. Earlier, an average of 35 citizens were bitten by dogs every day. In 2025, an average of 47 dogs will bite every day for 8 months.
Junagadh:
There are an estimated 7 to 8,000 dogs in the Junagadh Municipal Corporation area.
Sterilization has been stopped for two years. No money is being spent to end the terror of dogs. While two children have died due to dog bites in Junagadh district in a year.
Kutch:
From January 1 to October 25, 2023, 3,965 people were bitten by dogs in Kutch district. 2,500 people were sterilized. No budget has been allocated to the District Panchayat by the government. Kutch Municipality spends Rs 1 lakh per year.
Bhavnagar:
76 people were bitten by dogs in Bhavnagar city in the year 2022-23. 15,000 dogs were sterilized. The government does not give money. The municipal corporation spent Rs 50 lakh.
Government monitoring:
The Gujarat government informs the district head and corporation head through letters for a rabies free city.
In Gujarat, to prevent the state citizens from being bitten by dogs, cats, snakes, camels and other wild animals, the state government’s Health and Family Welfare Department monitors all the incidents daily through the National Control Program and White Program.
All the information is provided by the central government’s IHIP portal and all the hospitals in the state.
The National Rabies Control Program in which anti-rabies vaccine is given. (Google translation from Gujarati from this website)
