Amid the increasing incidents of dog attacks on children, the Punjab State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has told Local Government and Rural Development Department to conduct a census of stray dogs in all cities, as reported by news agency ANI.
The chairman of the child protection body Kanwardeep Singh expressed concern over the incident and said, "The reports of stray dog attacks on children have been brought to the commission's attention through media sources." The commission has taken sou-motu notice on this matter.
According to an official statement issued on Friday, Singh has also urged the local authorities to start a sterilisation drive for dogs.
Highlighting the incident of dog bite, he said that two children died within a week in Hasanpur village near Ludhiana in such attack, and added that similar incidents have been reported from parts of Punjab, including Mohali, Zirakpur, Amritsar, Machhiwara Sahib, and Nabha.
The chairman has futher written to the administrative secretaries of the Punjab Local Government and the Rural Development and Panchayat Department and directed them to implement the provisions of the Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023.
Recently, an elderly woman was attacked by five dogs in Punjab's Khanna, NDTV reported. According to the details about the incident, it happened in Nai Abadi area, and the woman sustained dozen of wounds. The woman, in order to escape from the dogs, tried rushing in a house, however, she was unable to enter on time, and was pulled down by the dog. As reported, some more dogs came and started biting her, and they only got dispersed when a person threw an object on the dogs.
Earlier this month, a child was attacked by dog in Mohali. He sustained multiple injuries. The 11-year-old boy, Pratham Sharma, got bitten by the dog while he was standing outside his residence. The boy was later taken to a hospital in Chandigarh, as reported by The Time of India.