THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Although the stray dog menace, which is causing major embarrassment to the state, has reached the Supreme Court, the state government is lagging behind in spending the necessary money to solve the issue. As many as 1.83 lakh people were bitten by dogs in the last four months in the state.

It is estimated that at least 150 crore rupees will be required to solve the dog menace. However, the state government will not pay so much. It has directed that money should be found from the local bodies' own funds. Although the project report has been completed and the government has given permission to amend it to include dog catching, it remains silent on allocating the necessary funds for it. The government is of the view that the local bodies should find the money themselves. This is the main crisis.

During the covid pandemic, the local bodies took on huge financial responsibilities. They had to abandon many projects. In this situation, many local bodies are unable to take more financial responsibility to solve the dog menace.

Who will find the money?

Shelters, vaccination camps, hiring of vehicles, formation of voluntary forces, 10-day training, provision of infrastructure, facility and training of veterinary students are all costly programmes. The expenses for vaccination and sterilization come apart from this.

According to the new project, a special medical team will be formed at the block level. The medical team consists of a veterinary surgeon, four vets, a theatre assistant, a cleaner and a dog catcher. It has been directed that an operation theatre and a centre for keeping dogs should be set up for every two blocks according to the number of dogs. Local bodies have to
find the money for all this.