In alarming news from Ahmedabad, a seven-month-old baby, Pooja, a child of construction workers was carried for roughly 30 metres by four stray dogs. Bystanders noticed the terrifying situation and intervened to save the infant. The incident happened on Thursday, April 20.
The child was put in a makeshift cradle near Sonal Cinema Road in Sarkhej, Juhapura, where her parents were working when the stray dogs suddenly attacked her. The entire instance that took place at Bagh-e-Nishat Society in Juhapura was captured on CCTV. The footage (video discretion advised) was also posted on social media.
In yet another incident of stray dog menace, a 3-month-old baby of laborers was lifted from cradle, dragged and attacked by a pack of stray dogs in Juhapura area of Ahmedabad; CCTV footage of incident has gone viral pic.twitter.com/CzJSfRpqGf
— DeshGujarat (@DeshGujarat) April 21, 2023
The child was severely bitten and scratched, resulting in significant injuries, and was transferred to Civil Hospital. She was discharged following the treatment.
“It is a horrifying incident. The baby girl, Puja, after the severe attack was rushed by her parents to the Sarkhej Arogya Center, later to VS Hospital, and then to Ahmedabad Civil Hospital where she was treated. She was given an injection, however, there is concern over the infection since she has injuries all over,” Haji Mirza, Congress Councillor from Maktampura stated.
“The parents were working at a construction site near Sonal Cinema Road and had put the infant in a cradle. Suddenly stray dogs attacked the child. The 7-month-old girl would have died had residents not chased away the dogs in time,” he continued.
“The attack by dogs is a huge concern in this area. Earlier, a similar incident occurred in Fatehwadi about four months ago. There are crores of rupees spent in the department without fruitful results. Children are scared of dogs and a child has recently been bitten by a dog thrice in Nasheman society. It is unfortunate that dogs are not caught by the teams,” the leader added.
In Ahmedabad city, 58,668 dog bite incidences were reported in 2022, 7,457 more than in 2021. The month of December 2022 saw the highest number of dog bite reports, with 5,880 incidents being recorded in hospitals and urban health centres, according to Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) data.
As per AMC, dog bite cases decreased during the lockdowns in 2020–2021. 65,881 dog bite cases were reported to hospitals and UHCs in the city in 2019, 51,244 in 2020, and 50,668 in 2021.
“However, as 2022 saw activities resume, cases of dog bites increased,” an AMC official informed. The 2022 number, he specified, is still less than that of 2019.
