No toilets at home, lathi ammo to battle savage dogs in Sitapur

SITAPUR: It wasn't dawn and five women of Sitapur's Gurpaliya village stepped out of their homes, wielding ' lathis' and holding big torches. With the ammunition in hand, the women set out to relieve themselves. This has become the standard operating procedure for anyone wanting to relieve themselves since savage dogs began attacking and killing children in the area, mauling two to death.
"Most people in this village do not have a toilet at home and go to the fields.Since it is unavoidable, we go out in groups, carrying lathis and sticks. We are not allowing children to go out alone at all," said Ramrati.
Ramrati's neighbour, Bimla, said her family constructed a basic roofless toilet outside their home when they were given Rs 500 by government some five years ago. "It is so basic that we use it for urination only. We could not even erect the walls with the money given to us," she said.
The absence of toilets was never felt more acutely in this village. Two children, Khalid and Rahim, both 12-year-old, were killed by attacking dogs. In Rahim's case, his uncles tried to chase the dogs but failed to save their nephew.
Mohd Shahir Khan, Rahim's uncle, says the dogs he saw were much bigger than the ones in their village. "They were large, robust and swift-footed. We could not catch them even on our bikes. However, we did manage to kill three of them and disposed their bodies in the forests," he said.
The killing of the dogs is, however, disputed. Khan's relative says the three dogs killed did not belong to the violent pack but were 'normal' dogs. It's difficult to say anything because there has been no official investigation.
"Before chief minister Yogi Adityanath's visit to the village today, no official had come here. The administration provided us no help. The CM assured us help would be extended to us, but even he did not specify what would be done. After the death of the children, a police team had come but left after taking a round of the village," claimed Khalid's mother, Mehjabeen.
Zarina said police came after her son Rahim's death but since then, they have not heard from anyone.