No end to growing stray dog menace in Srinagar

Srinagar, Dec 18: There seems to be no end to the growing stray dog menace in the summer capital as the dog sterilisation has been stopped amid sub-zero temperature.

Residents from city areas said that the presence of stray dogs on roads is hampering their movement.

“All market areas and landmarks are full of stray dogs. Their population is increasing rapidly. Dog sterilisation has barely changed the ground situation,” said Basit Ali, a resident of Downtown.
The two dog sterilisation facilities under Srinagar Municipal Corporation have been rendered defunct. Officials claim that amid sub-zero temperatures, the sterilisation surgeries cannot be carried out till the winter ends.

Dr Hakim Athar, who heads the sterilisation facility at SKUAST Shuhama said during winter, the facility is not operational.

“Due to sub-zero temperature the facility was closed last month as it is not possible to operate when the temperatures are low. This goes against the guidelines, and that is the reason every year the facility is closed in winter. Otherwise, the surgeries are carried out depending on the number of dogs we receive from teams,” Athar said.

Officials recently said that with the functioning of Tengpora dog sterilisation facility, there will be a significant change in the scenario as more dog sterilisation surgeries will be carried out. However, officials said that the sterilisation facility of Tengpora has also been rendered defunct owing to sub-zero temperatures.

“From last month as the temperature dropped, the facility is not functional. We used to carry more surgeries since the Tengpora facility was started, but as we cannot operate amid minus temperature, the facility is temporarily closed for the surgeries. As the temperature improves, the operations will start again,” said an official.

Greater Kashmir did a series of stories on the issue and spoke to various experts. Experts said that given the huge dog population in Srinagar and Shuhama being the only facility until a few months back, there is an acute need for a mass sterilisation program.

Officials also said that since the start of the Tengpora facility in June, they had sterilised over 4000 dogs across Srinagar by the end of October.
However, with both the facilities rendered defunct, locals said that the dog population will only grow, making life in Srinagar more difficult.