Suspected rabid dog attacks 11 people in Satara’s Jakatwadi village

Kolhapur: A suspected rabid dog in Jakatwadi village, adjacent to Satara city, attacked and bit 11 people on Sunday, injuring four children, one woman and six men. The injured people were taken to the district govt hospital in Satara for treatment. Meanwhile, a mob of angry villagers chased and killed the dog with sticks.The dog bite incidents occurred in a 15-20-minute span on Sunday. Mahendra Yadav, one of the injured men, said, "The stray dog was breathing heavily, and it first attacked a school-going boy playing in the parking place below the apartment. Then the dog attacked two girls, and then started biting everyone who came in the dog's way. All the injured people were immediately taken to the district govt hospital."Chandrakant Sanas, the former sarpanch of Jakatwadi, said, "This happened due to a lack of appropriate measures taken at the Songaon garbage depot, and negligence of the administration. Many people just dump stale and rotten food items as they pass by the Songaon garbage depot area. This garbage keeps lying at the spot for several days, attracting strays. These stray dogs should be controlled."Dhananjay Jambhale, the health committee chairman of the Satara zilla parishad, said, "Many people are throwing garbage in the open. Everyone should recognise their responsibility and not do such things. Everyone must take responsibility. The dog in this case was killed by the angry mob. We have given orders to trap stray dogs in the area and relocate them to a shelter house. Also, an investigation into whether the dog was rabid or not has commenced."Earlier, in 2021, in a similar incident, a stray dog attacked 15 people from Jakatwadi and Dabewadi villages, in which a young man and a woman were killed.