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A nightmare for two-wheeler riders

Photo: Lingaraj Panda

Stray dogs pose grave danger to schoolchildren in the morning and motorcyclists in the night in Berhampur. —

BERHAMPUR: For two-wheeler riders stray dogs have become the most frightening beings on Berhampur roads. Every other day especially during the night two-wheeler riders are meeting with accidents due to these stray dogs. The onset of monsoon which coincides with the mating season of these dogs has aggravated the problem. During mating season the dogs become more agile and run aimlessly across the roads.

Added to it showers make the roads too slippery making an accident with a running dog perilous. Usually they fall under the wheels of vehicles. Four-wheelers manage to keep up their balance and the dogs get crushed to death. But for poor two-wheeler riders it is a sudden loss of balance and the rider has to face a severe accident. The extreme flexible spine, ribs and muscles of dogs makes it easier for the wheels of a vehicle skid over their body.

According to doctors at the casualty section of the MKCG Medical College Hospital in the city, at least three or four accident victims whose two- wheelers had met with accidents due to stray dogs reach the hospital every day. Since last year the city unit of the ‘People for Anima’ is conducting ‘orchiotomy’ and ‘flank-surgery’ operations on stray dogs caught from the city to reduce their number in the city limits. Under these operations the uterus of female dogs and the testes of male dogs are completely removed. As per the “People for Animal’ activists these operations are fool proof measures as traditional tubectomy and vasectomy usually fail in case of stray dogs.

But rising increased number of young stray dogs surely speak a different story. The municipality officials are hand bound to take any drastic measure to reduce the number of stray dogs in the city as it would lead to much hue and cry by the animal activists.

But people like Mahiraj Panda say they would surely shiver at the sight of them as it would make him remember the days he had to spend in hospital following an accident caused by a stray dog.

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