Chief minister Yogi Adityanath's visits and administrative efforts seem helpless in curbing the menace of feral dogs in Sitapur district, with a 10-year-old girl losing her life on Sunday in the latest incident of canine attack.
Barely a few days ago, Adityanath had gone to Sitapur and had met the children bitten by the feral dogs. He had given clear instructions to the district administration to prevent such attacks, but nothing seems to be working. In the last fortnight, such dogs have killed seven children. Since November 2017, more than 15 people have been killed in canine attacks, even though government officials put the figure at 13.
In the latest incident, which took place on Sunday, in Maheshpur village, a pack of dogs mauled 10-year-old Reena, when she had gone to a mango orchard along with her friends.
City Magistrate Harash Deo Pandey confirmed the death and said the victim had gone to the orchard along with her friends when a pack of feral dogs attacked them. The other children fled the spot but Reena got trapped, and by the time villagers reached the spot, Reena had died.
The death infuriated the villagers, who blocked NH-24 highway as a mark of protest.
Meanwhile, District Magistrate of Sitapur Sheetal Verma has ordered that children do not move around unaccompanied in the vicinity of 'danger' spots that have been known to be vulnerable to dog attacks.
Village committees are being formed to ensure that children do not move out alone.
The villagers attribute these deaths to lack of proper planning and concrete measures to curb these incidents. “The district administration is making tall claims, but since November, the toll is mounting and administration has completely failed to deal with this canine menace,” said Bhure Lal, a villager.
Teams of municipal personnel have been sent from Lucknow and even villagers started killing feral dogs but the attacks by these dogs are going on unabated.
According to the experts from the Veterinary Research Institute who have been studying the pattern of these attacks, these dogs are attacking human beings because of non–availability of meat for them and because of their carnivorous nature.