The Hindu : New Delhi News : New measures under way to check rabies

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, May 06, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

New measures under way to check rabies

Bindu Shajan Perappadan

Delhi has an estimated population of over two lakh stray dogs

NEW DELHI: : With Delhi officially recording 100 cases of rabies every year and a near total death rate, a worried anti-rabies department has now decided to roll up it sleeves and tackle the problem at the micro-level.

Officials at the Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme run by the Delhi Government and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi are now busy in re-styling the `work map of Delhi' selecting previously `neglected' areas in the city and bringing it under the sterilisation programmes for stray dogs.

Figuring on the Capital's sterilisation map for the first time are Sarita Vihar, Greater Kailash Part-II, Vasant Kunj, Devali Khanpur, Sangam Vihar, Pitampura, Vasant Vihar and trans-Yammuna areas all of which have been allocated to various non-government organisations working in the area.

"Under the Animal Birth Control Rules 2001 municipal authorities cannot kill healthy stray dogs and one of the way to control the growing population is to sterilise these dogs. Under the new programme we have identified areas that have been previously untouched or were not covered and this latest initiative will help us control and keep in check the problem of stray dogs and rabies. We have to understand that in most cases rabies are not fatal and many don't take proper treatment leading to death rates due to rabies being very high in Delhi and the neighbouring States,'' said the in-charge rabies control programme of the MCD, Dinesh Sharma.

Delhi has an estimated official population of over two lakh stray dogs and most of them `escape' being vaccinated. According to a report by the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD), 96 per cent of all cases of rabies in India are caused by stray dogs and figures quoted by World Health Organisation (WHO) officials state that worldwide 40,000 to 70,000 people die from rabies every year and nearly 30,000 of these deaths occur in India

"This time round we have also roped in residents welfare association and canine club members. We have received a sanction amount of Rs. 55 lakhs for the programme and have been already given the first instalment of Rs. 28 lakhs. This latest programme is part of MCD initiative to make the city rabies-free. The civic body has now adopted an area based approach, which will involve closer co-ordination with residents welfare associations,'' said Dr. Sharma.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

New Delhi

News Update

Stories in this Section