Unscientific garbage disposal and growing dog population in Kashmir

There has been an alarming rise in dog bite cases in Kashmir this year. Experts blame growing dog population and unscientific garbage disposal for the menace which has assumed horrendous proportions.
Not a single day passes without dog bite incidents in Kashmir. The problem is most severe in J&K’s summer capital Srinagar. As per estimates, over one lakh stray dogs are present in Srinagar alone. Over 5,000 cases of dog bites have been reported in the last 10 months in the valley and majority of cases are from Srinagar.

As per estimates, over 13 people suffer dog bites every day in Srinagar district alone. Cases of dog bites rise during their reproductive season of dogs as these become aggressive while protecting their newly born puppies.As per data by Anti-Rabies Clinic (ARC) at the Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) Hospital from, Kashmir registered 4695 dog bite cases in 2022. Over 60,000 dog bite cases have been registered at Anti-Rabies Clinic SMHS in the last over a decade in Kashmir. As stray dog menace has gripped Srinagar, authorities are struggling to cope up with sterilisation of canines in absence of required infrastructure and manpower.

Though the number of dog bites are lesser in districts excluding Srinagar, however canine attacks have proved lethal. Last year a 10-year old boy was mauled to death by stray dogs in Pattan area of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district. The incident has evoked strong protest by the locals who said that the stray dog population in the area has increased manifold in absence of proper garbage disposal.
In 2000, a lawyer from north Kashmir’s Baramulla district died after being mauled by a pack of stray dogs. He was attacked during his routine morning walk. In the gruesome attack, he was bitten on his leg, face and back by the stray dogs that later resulted in his multi organ failure. He went into coma and was put on a ventilator and passed away after battling for 21 days at SMHS Hospital.

On April 30 last year, stray dogs left 39 people, including 17 tourists and 22 locals, injured at tourist hub Boulevard in Srinagar. The tourists were strolling on the banks of Dal lake when they were pounced upon by the canines and had to be admitted to hospital.

We have to understand that dog bites can lead to deaths in case of rabies besides cause sepsis, deformity of affected parts and also affected victims psychologically.
As per a study ‘The Lived-In Experience and Psychological Recount of Dog Bite Victims Visiting the Anti-Rabies Clinic in Kashmir: A Qualitative Study conducted by Department of Community Medicine GMC Srinagar, the situation is alarming. “The dog bite victims stated that after facing mauling from the dogs, they developed a strong inner feeling of psychological and emotional instability.

They felt subdued, shaken up, and defeated. They wanted to shrug off the memories of the unpleasant events they had experienced after getting bitten by the dogs.” The dog bite victims revealed that dog bites have substantial and far-reaching social and economical implications.

Some of the respondents had suffered the loss of daily wages apart from out-of-pocket expenditure to meet the consequential dog bite management costs. The dog bite victims were unequivocal in their statements regarding the feeling of detachment and being thrown away.The study provides an elucidative and explanatory analysis of the lived experiences of dog bite victims, wishing to draw the attention of the planners and policymakers.

The study creates propelling thrust for the use of cost-effective mass dog vaccination.“There is a need to pay attention to the dog bite victims’ lived experience, and health care professionals need to support them through education, and counselling. The policymakers should devise other supportive programs to minimise the psychological trauma caused by the dog bites, apart from enhancing measures towards elimination of dog-mediated human rabies,” it states.

Open garbage dumping sites in Kashmir are stated to be one of the major reasons for increasing population of stray dogs in Srinagar and rising dog bite cases. As per estimates, over 500 metric tons of garbage is generated daily in Srinagar. The problem is compounded in absence of segregation of waste at source and scientific disposal especially of poultry waste.Srinagar’s lone garbage dumping site at Achan is unable to cater to increasing waste load.

In 2017, the Government had proposed to set-up a waste-to-energy plant at Achan to reduce load on its cells. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) had fixed an 18-month timeframe to establish the facility. Despite the passing of six years, the project is yet to take off.

Overloaded Achan garbage dump has become a health hazard for people living in Downtown Srinagar. In summer this year, a pungent smell emanating from the garbage dump made lives of people in its adjoining areas including Downtown miserable. If this is the state of the garbage disposal system in Srinagar, the fate of similar facilities at other places in Kashmir can be imagined.

Open dumping of garbage in forest areas of eco-fragile tourist resorts in Kashmir point towards lack of proper dumping and scientific disposal of waste material.

Garbage dumps have turned into breeding grounds for stray dogs. People, especially children and elderly have been facing the brunt of stray dogs. Lives of people are at stake.
It is high time for the government to take immediate measures for ensuring scientific disposal of garbage and checking the growing population of stray dogs.

Author is Executive Editor, Greater Kashmir