Kolar, 1 Jan

A stray dog bit and injured as many as 21 people in just one and a half hours on Wednesday near a Kolar RTO office, Byre Gowda layout and nearby areas on Wednesday.  Eventually, the public chased the dog, beating it to death with sticks and stones. It is not yet known whether the dog was rabid or a normal stray.

Around noon, the dog suddenly attacked people moving near the RTO office and nearby areas, biting the people moving on the road and standing near their houses.  

The injured were rushed to the SNR Hospital in Kolar, where they were administered anti-rabies vaccines.  

Witnesses said the dog ran from place to place on the biting spree.  

On receiving news about the incident, CMC Commissioner Naveen Chandra contacted his KGF counterpart and requested him to send the team of dog catchers, but before the team arrived in Kolar, the irate public had killed the dog.  

Dr Jagadish, District Surgeon at SNR Hospital, Kolar, said some of the victims told him that the dog was dumped in a drain. Because the dog was killed, he was unsure if it was rabid.

Luckily, most of the victims were adults, and no child was bitten, said Narayanaswamy of Byre Gowda layout in Kolar.  

There are nearly one lakh dogs in the Kolar district, including about twenty thousand pet dogs.  

Deputy Commissioner Ravi MR said that the district administration had drawn up a plan to set up shelter houses for the stray dogs in the district, while shelter houses will be set up near the Solid Waste Management units.

He said the district administration would follow the Supreme Court guidelines and the SOP prescribed by the Animal Welfare Board.

However, V Shivareddy of Bangarpet has said there are numerous strays in Bangarpet and authorities are not implementing the apex court’s guidelines.