SITAPUR: The mood was sombre in
Talgaon village on Sunday morning but fear was still palpable as just 24 hours ago, Qasim (9) was killed by a pack of stray dogs.
It was around 8.30am when the prevailing silence was broken by loud shouts signalling another attack,
barking of dogs and wails of children who started crying in fear. Villagers, who stay alert round-the-clock, rushed out wielding ‘lathis’ and guns. Minutes later, the ferocious dog was dead in the fields of nearby
Dasauli village of Khairabad tehsil in
Sitapur district, about 80 km from Lucknow. The villagers were satisfied that the kids were safe and one dog had been done to death, but three others had escaped.
The children were going to the fields when a pack of four dogs had attacked them. Dasauli is dominated by Sikhs who migrated from Jalandhar. Sardar Mahendra Singh said his hand automatically rushes to pick up his licensed double-barrel if he hears loud barks.
Another villager, Satyapal Singh, informs that a pack of dogs had entered the house of one Anil Yadav around 11.30pm on Saturday. “We all rushed and opened fire which scared the dogs away. We have formed a team to guards our homes,” said Satyapal. Even after several combing operations, the threat of attacks looms large. Since November 2017, 12 children have died in attacks by dogs but the administration has no answers.
‘Not all parents can accompany kids to school’
The situation is similar in Govindsarai, Gurpaliya, Tikariya, Newada, Saraiya, Rahimababd, Badri Kheda villages. Children have stopped going to school, they don’t go out to play.
Rajesh Kumar of Gurpaliya said that his son stopped going out after his friend Khalid was mauled to death on May 1. “The nearest school in Rahimambad is around 5 km away and the path is very lonel. Not all people can accompany their children to schools,” he said.
City magistrate, Sitapur, Harsh Deo Pandey said that 30 dogs have been captured till Sunday by the team from Mathura which is being paid Rs 600 per day.
Sanjay, principal of Saraiya Primary School says there has been a 50% decline in attendance since May 2.
Villagers killed one dog in Dasauli village on Sunday.