The other night I was going home from the office on my motorbike when I was asked to stop at a security check point near Peshawar Garrison Club. The soldier on the duty asked me politely where I was coming from and where I was heading towards. And after seeing my office card he asked me to go.
But I stayed there and ask the soldier can I stay there for sometime. He asked me why I wanted to stay when he had cleared me to go. I signaled with my finger towards the dogs playing just a few yards away. Oh! They will not say anything to you, the soldier told me and added that they remain here throughout the night and does not say anything to the passerby. I asked him whether they are trained dogs. But the soldier replied that no they were not rather they were stray dogs. I said ok and carried on my journey towards my home.
But as soon as I crossed the dogs, one of them barked and started following me with full speed. I tried to keep my composure and not to lose my senses and just accelerated the speed of my motorbike and after a small run the dog left the chase and I took a sigh of relief.
First I was blaming the on duty soldier who had termed those dogs harmless but then I regrouped my thoughts and made an overview of the city in my mind.
It came into my mind that this was not the only place where such stray dogs can be found in Peshawar rather almost at every major road of city we can find such dogs especially during night times.
Whether it is near Lady Reading Hospital, G.T. Road, Saddar, Gulbahar, Hayatabad, University Road you just name the road and you can find the stray dogs. It has been a long time since the district administration and the administration of Cantonment Board have initiated drive against stray dogs which if bite can cause rabies.
A few days ago the health reporter of The Frontier Post had written a story on the doctors of Hayatabad Medical Complex being afraid to come to the duty during night hours as they are always welcomed by the dangerous stray dogs out side the hospital. One of my friends even had an accident when a stray dog followed him and tried to bit him before my friend fell off his motorbike and injured himself.
Such incidents happen daily in large number but mostly go unreported. Whether the vaccine of rabies available in city hospitals is another topic but the main issue is the presence of the stray dogs.
With the new Local Government System in place and new Deputy Commissioner already taken the charge I hope that he will look towards this issue and will take steps for its solution.
