HYDERABAD: The People’s Union for Civil Liberties on Saturday demanded the state government to publish a white paper on dog bites cases in the state, number of rabies deaths, funds being spent for eradication of rabies and the role of NGOs in controlling rabies and dog bites.At a round-table conference held here, PUCL president Jaya Vindhyala accused the government of failing to check the dog bite menace.“Every month, over 35,000 dog bite cases are taking place, some resulting in death of people. But the government is least bothered,” said Vindhyala.She alleged that the NGOs were misusing government funds in name of the sterilisation programme but doing nothing to control the stray dog population in the state.Thee state reportedly has a stray population of around 20 lakh, with three lakh stray dogs in the city limits alone. “The sterilisation programme has not been up to the mark and the government should take action against dubious NGOs which are misusing government funds,” said the PUCL president.She added that the kin of person who died due to dog bite should get Rs 10 lakh in ex-gratia payment and employment from the government.Joint director of Public Health, C Shankaraiah said there is no dearth of antirabies vaccine in government hospitals, including Public Health Centres (PHCs).“Out of the 35,000 dog bite cases, a person actually dying is just one in a year. This shows that vaccines are being administered to patients timely.Adequate funds are also being provided to control the dog bite menace,” he said.PUCL secretary Mohd Riyaz said NGOs raise a hue and cry when the civic body kills rabid dogs. “But no organisation raised voice when people are being killed by dog bites,” he added.
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