Bhubaneswar: All educational institutions including schools and colleges are closed for three days starting on Monday in an Orissa town after stray dogs went on a rampage and attacked dozens of its residents, police said.

"All the schools at Bamra town in the district of Sambalpur, some 400 km from here, will be closed three days because stray dogs are attacking people," officer in-charge of local police station Biswapati Panda told sources on phone.

Panda said at least 40 people were hurt in the attack launched by the dogs. The injured were taken to a local government hospital on Friday. Local sources put the total number of people injured as above 60.

Bamra has about 5,000 residents with over half a dozen educational institutions. Police said the town harbours over 50 stray dogs.

"But some more dogs have infiltrated in the city from neighbouring districts over the past week, taking the total number of dogs in the town to over 80. About ten of them are mad and are attacking people," Panda said over phone.

"We are trying to capture all the mad dogs to bring normalcy to the town," he said. IANS