- SHC CJ notes that there are 50 stray dogs that are even on court property.
- Additionally orders that helpline 1093 be functioning in a week.
KARACHI: The project director protested to the court about a lack of funding to carry out the project, and the Sindh High Court on Wednesday ordered the provincial authorities to provide the cash intended for the rabies control programme Sindh (RCPS).
A two-judge panel led by Chief Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi also issued an order mandating the creation of a helpline within a week that would be specifically for complaints regarding stray dogs.
The RCPS project director claimed that although they were working on the project nonstop and attempting to carry it out in full, there had been a delay due to a lack of funding.
One of the applicants contended that, given the abundance of stray dogs discovered on the streets and the reported incidences of dog bites, the project director’s purported efforts to implement previous court orders were apparent nowhere on the ground.
Regarding the increase in dog bite cases in the province and the lack of anti-rabies vaccines at government hospitals, two identical complaints were made in 2019–20. The SHC has since issued further orders pertaining to the matter.
The bench had called the RCPS project director to the previous hearing, along with all vaccination records, the status of the dedicated helpline, the sterilizing of stray dogs, and the steps taken to carry out previous court orders.
Sumera Hussain Project director arrived at the start of the hearing on Wednesday and filed a report and comments regarding the efforts made thus far to carry with the court orders. Copies of the report were also given to the petitioners.
One of the petitioners asked for more time to review the report, but questioned the efforts that had been made thus far. They contended that many of the steps outlined in the report were not evident in real life, and that many stray dogs were discovered on the streets because they had not been neutered, while many patients with dog bites were also making their way to hospitals.
The chief justice added that some fifty stray dogs may occasionally be discovered on the grounds of the SHC and that it didn’t seem like the relevant authorities were making much of an attempt to capture these animals all over the city.
According to the project director’s submission, she was newly appointed and will finish a number of RCPS tasks by June 2025 in accordance with the authorized PC-I’s scope.
She did, however, remark that there had been some delays because of a lack of funding and that they would move more quickly as soon as the necessary monies were made available. There wouldn’t be any incidents of dogs biting people on the street, she said.
The bench ordered the learned assistant attorney present in court to contact the relevant ministry or department in order to arrange for the regular release of funds intended for the RCPS. This is because the matter at hand involves the public in general, and the bench wanted to ensure that there would be no obstacles to the program’s implementation.
The bench further mandated that the helpline (1093), set up for this purpose, be active within a week, at the insistence of one of the petitioners.
The project director was instructed to submit a new report to this impact on the next date of the hearing, which was held on March 28.
According to the project director’s report, the Sindh government altered its ADP project/RCPS for the 2023–2024 fiscal year in response to several comments received following the publication of a notice in prominent publications.
Additionally, it stated that the project would establish rabies vaccination centers (RVCs) in 20 districts of Sindh, neuter and vaccinate approximately 12,000 stray dogs, set up a system for reporting dog bite incidents, and manage the population of these dogs.
The study goes on to say that 13 more districts in Sindh and the remaining three districts, Korangi, Malir, and Keamari, have been selected as potential locations for RVCs. To date, four RVCs have been built in Karachi’s South, Central, East, and West districts.
It states that 25,000 stray dogs would receive mass vaccinations by June, and that 8,000 canines have already undergone neutering and more than 17,000 mass immunizations have been administered.
Regarding dog incarceration, the study states that this idea was not included in the proposal since rabies control centers are supposed to be set up for the purpose of providing stray dogs with scientific treatment.
It argued, however, that the responsibility for establishing such centers rests with Town Municipal Corporations.
SOURCE: DAWN NEWS
