Man-made disaster

#Man-made #Disaster

Kerala is staring at a man-made public health disaster, and the state government’s evasive posture on rabies control is nothing short of administrative apathy. The surge in dog bites and rabies deaths is not an unavoidable phenomenon but the direct outcome of policy paralysis.

Animal Birth Control (ABC), repeatedly showcased as a magic solution, has demonstrably failed on the ground, yet the government clings to it as a convenient alibi for inaction. Local bodies pleading lack of funds is an insult to public intelligence. Kerala’s decentralised system is flush with resources when it comes to festivals, publicity, and political pet projects. 

When human lives are at stake, suddenly the exchequer runs dry. The Human Rights Commission’s intervention itself is a damning indictment of the government’s non-cooperation and inability to prioritise citizens’ right to life over ideological posturing.

The hypocrisy becomes starker when so-called animal welfare arguments are selectively weaponised. Moral outrage over stray dogs rings hollow in a state where thousands of buffaloes, pigs, chicks, and ducks are slaughtered daily without triggering similar activism. Public health cannot be held hostage to selective compassion or noisy pressure groups.

 Equally disturbing are persistent allegations of vested interests thriving on the endless cycle of bites, vaccines, and panic, turning human suffering into a lucrative marketplace. Against this backdrop, the government’s claim that it is “difficult to find land” for shelters is laughable. Land is readily found for commercial projects, party offices, and tourism ventures, but mysteriously vanishes when it comes to saving lives. 

This is not a logistical problem; it is a crisis of political will. Kerala urgently needs decisive action viz. scientific population control, effective sheltering, strict accountability, and above all, a government that stops dodging responsibility while rabies spreads unchecked.

-K A Solaman