Steep rise in canine poplation scares Watchi Shopian residents
Shopian: The huge surge in stray dogs population in Watchi area of south Kashmir’s Shopian district has become a cause of grave concern for inhabitants of the area.
The residents of area said that the problem has assumed a serious dimension with concerned authorities turning a deaf ear to the public outcry.
Gulzar Ahmad, a local resident said that packs of dogs can be seen on roads causing inconvenience to the general public mainly school going children.
He said that increasing numbers of these stray dogs are posing a grave threat to the life of people and the movement of people, especially children, elders and women.
“The movement of children and women has become difficult during morning and evening hours,” said a local woman.
Javid Ahmad, another local said that children in these areas are unable to move freely due to the fear of the dogs.
He said that elders have to accompany the children to school and even while yhey go out for tuitions and other activities.
People alleged that the mysterious rise in dog population was due to their transportation from urban areas during night hours.
They have appealed the concerned authorities to tackle the menace at an earliest for the convenience of the people.
“It has become difficult during morning and evening hours to move at ease,” said another local, adding, “due to the large number of dogs, people especially elderly and children feel unsafe in venturing out of their lawn.”
They said that in this holy month people feel scared while going to Masjid for Taravi and Fajr prayers due to continuous presence of stray dogs in packs.
“We brought the issue into the notice of higher ups several times but to no avail,” they said.
They once again requested the authorities to address the problem at an earliest so that locals won’t suffer anymore.
