Sitapur (Uttar Pradesh): A pack of dogs on Sunday mauled to death a 12-year-old girl in a village in Sitapur, the seventh such death in the district this month.

Thirteen people have died in Sitapur, which is part of the Lucknow division, since last November in rising dog attacks that are being blamed on the closure of illegal abattoirs.

"A 12-year-old girl, Reena, died on Sunday after being attacked by a pack of dogs," superintendent of police Anand Kulkarni said.

Indian Veterinary Research Institute director R.K. Singh said the dogs used to feed on scraps from the slaughter houses in surrounding areas, but were not getting their regular diet now and had turned ferocious.

The Yogi Adityanath government, which came to power in March last year, has been shutting down illegal abattoirs over the past several months.

Veterinarian Anoop Gautam said dogs tend to become more violent when there is a shortage of food. There is also a possibility of some nomads having set their dogs free, he said.

District magistrate Sheetal Verma said: "Of the 13 deaths due to dog attacks since November 2017, as many as 10 took place in the Khairabad police station area. Three other cases in the district were reported from Imlia Sultanpur, Kotwali Sitapur and Taalgaon police station areas."

Sitapur's district inspector of schools, Devki Singh, said schools in Khairabad were seeing a sharp dip in attendance. Parents have been directed to ensure that adults accompany children to and from school, the officer said.

Taking cognisance of the repeated dog attacks in Sitapur, Allahabad High Court has asked the state government to spell out steps being taken to curb the menace. It granted the government a month's time to submit a report and fixed July 4 as the next date of hearing.

Opposition parties accused the Yogi Adityanath government of ignoring the problem.

Congress spokesperson Ashok Singh said: "The incidents of children being killed in dog attacks definitely raises questions on the performance of the state government, which has failed to control the menace."

Samajwadi Party spokesperson Sunil Singh Sajan asked: "What could be more shameful for the state government than dogs killing innocent children?"

Adityanath had visited Sitapur district on Friday to meet families that have lost children to dog attacks.