Street menace

Darjeeling, March 13: Incidences of dog bites have surfaced in the hill town with the Darjeeling Municipality not functioning for the past one month.

Plaban Das, medical director, Planter’s Hospital, today confirmed seven cases of dog bites, which were treated in the hospital in February. “The victims included two foreigners and of the seven cases only one had been bitten by a pet dog,” Das said.

A 17-year-old boy from Arunachal Pradhesh studying in Darjeeling is being “suspected” of having contacted rabies. “The boy did not seem to have taken the bite seriously. He got alarmed only after the dog died 15 days of the bite. He contacted a local pharmacy which suggested him anti-rabies vaccine but that seems to have been insufficient in this case,” the doctor told The Telegraph.

People who are bitten by dogs should get treated within 24 hours. Medical experts maintain that any delay could be fatal as the earliest confirmation of rabies comes only after 10 days.

The municipality has a “dog squad” but since it is closed for the past one month, no action on street dogs has been taken. “Our road chowkidars usually inform us about dog bites and we refer the cases to health officials. The last report of dog bite we received was in February, as all departments except for essential services are closed,” said R Thatal, the civic body’s executive officer.

The impasse in the municipality is because of the indefinite strike called by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha. The party has questioned the legality of the election of the chairman, which had taken place in the absence of government observer.