Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Anti-rabies scheme put on hold

Special Correspondent

Municipal employees attacked

Thiruvananthapuram: The Integrated Rabies Control Programme launched by the City Corporation has been put on hold following the assault on a team of veterinary volunteers who were capturing stray dogs on Sunday night.

Chairman of the Corporation's standing committee on Health G.R. Anil said the decision to suspend the programme was taken in the light of the series of attacks on municipal employees by animal rights activists.

Civic officials said the veterinary volunteers were reluctant to carry on the project unless they were assured of protection.

Protest voiced

The decision has evoked strong reaction from the Federation of Residents' Associations, Thiruvananthapuram (FRAT). A press release quoting FRAT president T.K. Bhaskara Panicker and general secretary Paraniyam Devakumar demanded action against the assailants.

It said the foreign nationals involved in the incident were guilty of violating visa conditions. "They have no right to disrupt the rabies control programme taken up by the City Corporation under the provisions of the Kerala Municipalities Act, following instructions from the High Court and the Ombudsman for Local Self-Government Institutions," they said.

The press release also urged the Government to institute an investigation into the source of funds for the organisation.

Volunteers of the Animal Rights Kerala said they had only protested against the killing of stray dogs by the Corporation. They claimed that the organisation had entered into an agreement with the Vizhinjam and Venganoor grama panchayats to handle stray dogs.

"On Sunday, the Corporation squad was operating outside their jurisdiction in the Vizhinjam panchayat area. We had protested against this," a spokesperson for the organisation said.

Mr. Anil admitted that suspending the Rabies Control Programme would create difficulties for the citizens at a time when the Attukal Pongala festival was round the corner.

Menace

"Every year, we capture a large number of stray dogs from the wards neighbouring the temple during the run up to the festival which attracts tens of thousands of devotees from all over the State. There is a likelihood that the devotees will be exposed to marauding stray dogs," he said.

Recounting Sunday's incident, one of the animal handlers, Suresh, who was part of the Corporation squad, said the team was capturing stray dogs from Poonthura when they had received a telephone call alerting them to the menace created by a stray dog at Vellar on the outskirts of the city.

Refuge sought

"As soon as we reached the spot, our vehicle was blocked by a group of people, including foreigners. They surrounded us and pushed the driver out of the vehicle. One of the squad members was kicked and punched. We managed to escape and sought refuge on the premises of the Samudra Hotel. The security personnel at the hotel informed the police."

Mr. Suresh said the police were reluctant to file a case against the assailants.

"The police wanted to hush up the case. They asked us to settle the matter without making a big issue of it," he said.

One of the injured squad members was admitted to hospital. The police have filed a case against four foreign nationals in connection with the incident.

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