Aurangabad: The indiscriminate dumping of waste by the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) at various locations on the outskirts of the city has led to stray dog menace.While the animal birth control programme of the civic body has not been able to do much, drugs for dog bites continue to remain unavailable at government hospitals.Dumping of waste at Harsul Sawangi, Padegaon, Chikalthana and Kanchanwadi has brought in several problems for the locals and one of the key concerns is the thriving dog population at these sites.In Harsul Sawangi, farmers are suffering as dogs bite their cattle. A few days ago, Samad Ahmed, a farmer, lost his bull after it acquired infection from a dog bite. Samad has his farm a few metres away from the dumping site.“Dogs have been biting children, goats and cattle. AMC’s dog van picks dogs from one location and drops it at another location,” activist Ayyub Patel said.The situation is grim in Kanchanwadi where villagers fear travelling at night due to dogs. “The dogs at the waste site attack people riding two wheelers,” Chandrakant Patil, a local, said.Bhausaheb Shelar, a resident of Padegaon, said these have not prevented the AMC from bringing in more waste every day.Meanwhile, the municipal corporation’s animal husbandry department maintained that animal birth control programme is going on effectively since May. “On an average 10 dog sterilisations are carried out daily by Blue Cross — an agency hired by AMC. Two dog vans of the AMC and one of the agency have been pressed into service,” Ganesh Chede, AMC’s veterinary doctor, said.However, dog bite patients visiting the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) are compelled to pay from their pocket for the treatment owing to lack of injections at the state-run hospital.The hospital is currently facing shortage of anti-rabies vaccine and serum — both required for dog bite treatment. GMCH medical superintendent Kailash Zine said that the anti-rabies serum is not available with the hospital as it is costly, but added that it is crucial in case a rabid dog bites.“As there is drug shortage, only those cases in which the wound is deep or on the neck and face, if there is heavy bleeding or when the dog history is unknown, we provide the treatment,” Zine said.

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