THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The stray dog menace in the capital city has assumed alarming proportions as about five morning walkers were bitten by a dog inside the museum premises on Tuesday.
"I was walking when the dog suddenly lunged at me from behind and bit my legs. One of the wounds is quite deep. It was scary and the security guards let the stray dogs roam freely inside the compound and I have seen them chasing two-wheelers many times. It's dangerous," said 62-year-old Thampy Bal, one among the five victims.
A peaceful morning walk at Museum - which draws hundreds of regular walkers and tourists each day - turned tragic for many on Tuesday when the dog started attacking and scaring everybody present at the time. "The incident occurred at 7.30am and I went to the General Hospital for treatment. It's a closed premises and the authorities could ensure that dogs don't roam freely and attack people," added Thampy.
Following the incident, the Museum and Zoo authorities have decided to ban outside food on campus. Director of the Department of Museums and Zoo P S Manjula Devi told TNIE that an emergency meeting was convened following the incident and a decision has been taken to ban outside food inside the campus.
"The dogs enter the premises because of food waste thrown around by people coming here. We remove around 100kg of food waste daily. We have decided to ban outside food on the campus and the security guards have been asked to enforce it. There is a freedom food truck parked right outside the museum, and people buy and have food sitting in the lawn. They just throw the waste around attracting dogs.