Cost of righteousness.

"In rural Patna and Nalanda, there has been a curious correlation between the liquor ban - enacted almost a decade ago (April 5, 2016) - and lightning deaths, with such fatalities almost quadrupling during some years," probably because "people have been cutting down tall, water-and-sap-filled palm trees, as they can no longer be used in the traditional toddy business." TOI. Mr Nitish Kumar became Chief Minster of Bihar for the fifth time in 2015, presumed to be because of support by women, by promising to ban alcohol. India Today. In 2024, 304 people died of lightning strikes, 400 in 2022 and 459 in 2020, probably an all-time high. TOI. So, instead of some men dying of alcohol-related causes, teetotalers, including children, are being killed by lightning. "Concerned over increasing instances of dog bits in the Capital, the Delhi high court has directed the city government to formulate a policy for the 'rehabilitation of community dogs at an institutional level' so that they can be gradually removed from the streets." Apparently, the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023, "prohibit relocation of community dogs except temporarily for sterilisation and vaccination. Once treated, dogs must be returned to their original locality and a detailed register needs to be maintained for each dog." HT. Many countries euthanize stray dogs when shelters get full. In the US, 2.7 million healthy and adoptable animals were euthanized in 2012-13. wikipedia. "There are approximately 62 million stray dogs and 9.1 million street cats in India," which can cause rabies and damage to property. The solution is to adopt strays, wrote Raj Kantak. One big reason for so many stray dogs is that people throw out their pets when they cannot manage them. "India is endemic for rabies, and accounts for 36% of the world's rabies deaths." Though the true number is unknown, it probably causes 18,000-20,000 deaths per year. "About 30-60% of reported rabies cases and deaths in India occur in children under the age of 15 years as bites that occur in children often go unrecognized and unreported." WHO. Clearly the ABC Rules of sterilisation and vaccination is not working in India. But, euthanasia is not the answer, wrote Ambika Shukla. When ABC Rules were introduced in Chennai and Jaipur in 1996, rabies deaths fell from 120 to 5 in Chennai and to zero in Jaipur in four years. "In 2024, India recorded just 54 human rabies deaths - 96% less than before ABC - per govt's April 1 answer to a parliamentary question." Since, rabies is entirely preventable, even one death is unacceptable. The cost of rabies vaccine for dogs is Rs 350 per dose HUFT. The total cost of vaccinating 62 million dogs will be Rs 21.70 billion every year. Sterilizing will cost even more. It is grossly unreasonable to use our tax money for ABC Rules just because some so-called animal lovers say so. In any event, vaccinating and sterilizing will not stop bites and killing of people by stray dogs (wikipedia). Let's protect palm trees and euthanize stray dogs. Or else, dog lovers should adopt them.