KARACHI, March 31: Stray dogs and mosquitoes have caused great trouble in many parts of the city as the city government’s health department and the 18 town administrations have failed to initiate campaigns to check their growth.

With the increase in stray dogs and mosquitoes, dog-bite incidence has risen enormously and malaria has become rampant.

The sources say that the city government’s health department is not able to start any anti-mosquito drive for want of equipments and funds.

They say that the malaria staff of health department often remain idle because of shortage of spray machines and vehicles.

Dogs can be seen barking at and even chasing people, particularly at night. Roaming in commercial areas and on the main roads and streets with few or no streetlights, they have created a frightening situation for residents and passersby. Many of these dogs are severely injured and highly aggressive, scaring people out of their wits.

Residents of many localities, including Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Gulistan-i-Jauhar, Surjani Town, Jamshed Road, PIB Colony, Burnes Road and Soldier Bazaar, have complained that the population of stray dogs has increased manifold in their areas which are often plunged into darkness on account of faulty streetlights.

A resident of Sindhi Muslim Housing Society complained that the streetlights in his locality had been out of order for a long time and the residents walked with great fear of being attacked by the dogs that were ever ready to bark and chase during the hours of darkness.

People living in the vicinity of the PECHS Senior Model School said that their children usually avoided going to and near the area shops at night for fear of falling victim to stray dogs, in the absence of streetlights.

They said the town administration did not seem interested in eradicating the menace of pye-dogs and in replacing the faulty streetlights with new ones, as several complaints to senior officials in that regard had fallen on deaf ears.

Similar complaints have been received from the residents of Jehangir Road, Jamshed Colony, Soldier Bazaar, Liaquatabad, Orangi, Malir, Khokarapar, Shah Faisal Colony, Lines Area, Korangi, Landhi, Baldia, Bahadurabad and Bangalore Town.

Though some of the defunct DMCs had been undertaking anti-pye dog campaigns in their respective jurisdictions about a year ago, they abandoned their campaigns after their senior officials stopped taking interest when they came to know that the entire local government system was being changed under the devolution plan.