Video of boy hounded by strays viral, Karur officials yet to act

TIRUCHY: A video of a six-year-old boy surrounded by a group of dogs at Pallapatti near Aravakurichi in Karur went viral across the region from Tuesday and the residents demand the officials to curb the stray dog menace immediately.

The residents who had already alerted Pallapatti municipal administration to initiate action against the dog menace prevailing across the municipality said, the officials are yet to initiate any action.

In such a backdrop, a six-year-old boy, Mohammed Uvais, son of Syed Abuthahir and Afrin, a couple from Linganayakkanpatti was returning home on Monday evening after attending his Arabic lessons at a madrasa nearby. He was surrounded by a group of eight dogs chasing him when he was at Mooper Thottam. The boy who was in the middle of the dogs was soon rescued by passersby and was handed over to his parents.

The CCTV footage of the incident had gone viral since late on Monday on social media. On Tuesday, the social activists from the locality went to the Pallapatti municipality and demanded immediate action against the dog menace. “We have been urging the officials across the Karur district to initiate action against the stray dogs which pose a threat to the people especially, the children but the officials are seen least bothered,” said R Karthikeyan, an activist. He also asked the officials to immediately initiate action before something worse could take place.