Srinagar: The J&K High Court on Tuesday closed down a public-interest litigation (PIL) related to dog menance with a direction to government authorities to curb the menance at all possible levels.
The court while closing down the PIL felt that the directions passed by the court in the matter have been more or less complied with and observed that there is no need for further directions.
Hearing the PIL by Advocate AR Hanjura, a division bench of Justice Ali Muhammad Magrey and Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur said, “We deem it proper to close this PIL with a direction to authorities to curb dog menance and ensure all efforts are done at all levels.
The court further directed that in case petitioner has further grievances on the matter, the petitioner can seek remedy.
Earlier the court had directed Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) to follow step wise method of garbage collection, its segregation, dumping and ultimate treatment accorded with a direction to SMC commissioner to reduce availability of energy rich garbage to stray dogs.
A census conducted by the government revealed that Srinagar city had 90,000 stray dogs in 2011. But the recent official data claims that the capital city of Srinagar has 40,000 to 45,000 stray dogs. The data claims that the number has decreased significantly over the years.
The decline in number is, however, being questioned by civil society groups who say the population of stray dogs cannot decline without any practicable programme to control their reproduction.
Nearly 31,000 cases of dog bites were reported at the lone Anti-Rabies Clinic of the SMHS Hospital in Srinagar between 2012 and 2017, according to official statistics.

NUSRAT SIDIQ