12-yr-old girl mauled to death by stray dogs

SITAPUR (U.P.),  MAY 14: Seventh such attack in May; toll touches 13 in the district in the past six months
A pack of ferocious dogs mauled a 12-year-old girl to death in a village here on Sunday, taking the toll in fatal attacks by feral canines in the district to 13 over the past six months, the police said.

“Reena died on Sunday after being attacked by a pack of dogs,” Superintendent of Police Anand Kulkarni said here.

The incident happened in Maheshpur village under the Khairabad police station. This is the seventh such death this month, they said.

Dip in pack number’s

District administration officials said Sitapur district’s Khairabad was the “worst affected”. Twenty-two villages of Khairabad block are affected by dog menace

Mr. Kulkarni said the administration was tackling the menace and the number of dogs in packs was decreasing. “Earlier, they used to attack in packs of six to eight. Now they are reduced to two or four,” the officer said.

District Magistrate Sheetal Verma said, “Of the 13 deaths due to dog attacks since November last, 10 have taken place in the Khairabad police station area...Areas under threat of dogs are under drone camera surveillance.”

Meanwhile, opposition parties slammed the Yogi Adityanath government for ‘ignoring’ the serious matter.

U.P. Congress spokesperson Ashok Singh said: “Incidents of children being killed in dog attacks definitely raises questions about the State government, which has failed to control the menace. Furious over the deaths of children due to dog bites, residents of Khairabad are planning to block National Highway-24 as a mark of protest. We can understand their pain, agony and sorrow. The government is yet to wake up from its deep slumber.”

Taking a jibe at the government, Samajwadi Party spokesperson Sunil Singh Sajan said: “What could be more shameful for the State government than dogs killing innocent children. The state of affairs in U.P. is very bad and it seems that there is a jungle raj.”

The Chief Minister had visited Sitapur district on May 11 and met the families of children who had come under attack from feral dogs. Mr. Adityanath, who had also visited the district hospital to see two injured children, had stressed the need to launch a drive against feral dogs. He had announced a compensation of ₹2 lakh for each family that had lost a child and ₹25,000 to every injured child.

Taking cognisance of repeated incidence of such attacks in Sitapur, the Allahabad High Court has asked the Uttar Pradesh government to spell out the steps being taken to curb the menace of feral dogs within a month.

The attacks have generated such fear that school attendance has dipped, the police conduct patrols and men go to work in orchards and fields armed with rods and axes.

Sitapur District Inspector of Schools Devki Singh said schools in Khairabad have seen a huge dip in attendance since May 1. Parents have been issued directions that adults should accompany children to and from school, the officer said.

Lack of food

Teams from WWF and Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Bareilly, have collected samples, including pug marks, bite marks and post-mortem reports from the district in recent days.

IVRI director R. K. Singh said the dogs used to feed on scraps from slaughter houses in surrounding areas but have not been getting regular diet now and