Gujarat : Four-Year-Old Girl mauled by a bunch of stray dogs, dies

Rajkot : A four-year-old girl was attacked by a bunch of eight to nine stray dogs in a tragic incident reported from Jangleshwar area in Rajkot, Gujarat  on Tuesday evening. Despite efforts from locals to rescue her, the fatally injured child succumbed to her injuries.

Rajkot Municipal Corporation officials emphasize ongoing sterilization efforts as the primary means of managing the city’s stray dog population.

Salim Saiyad, a migrant laborer residing with his family in the Jangleshwar area, faced this devastating loss when his 4-year-old daughter, Munni, was playing outside their hut around 7:30 PM. The sudden attack by the stray dogs resulted in severe injuries, leading to her tragic death. Despite immediate hospitalization, doctors pronounced her dead.

Dr. Bhavesh Jakasaniya, an official from the Rajkot Municipal Corporation, expressed sorrow over the incident, emphasizing the limitations in relocating street dogs.

“The corporation has been actively sterilizing these dogs, and in response to this recent tragedy, additional teams were deployed to catch street dogs. Before the sterilization initiatives, reported dog bite cases stood at 14,000 annually, a number that has since decreased to 10,000 per year” said Dr. Jakasaniya.

This incident isn’t an isolated one in Rajkot, as reports indicate 6,952 dog bite cases in the city from April to December 4, 2023.

Peak numbers were recorded in April (1,387 cases) and May (1,345 cases), while July marked the lowest count with 500 cases. Municipal records reveal a substantial expenditure of Rs 1.25 crore on dog sterilization in the first 11 months of the year and a total spending of Rs 5.44 crore over the past seven years.

The corporation has allocated Rs 600 per dog to NGOs conducting sterilization, yet challenges persist due to the perceived lack of professionalism among these agencies, contributing to the ongoing stray dog issue.