Chandigarh MC to start dog sterilisation on April 3
As per Chandigarh MC’s plan, the drive will be carried out in one area or sector at a time and will focus on sterilising female dogs to limit the reproduction rate
To tackle the stray dog menace and amplify the ongoing Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme, the Chandigarh municipal corporation (MC) will restart the dog sterilisation drive on Monday.
As per MC’s plan, the drive will be carried out in one area or sector at a time. It will focus on sterilising female dogs to limit the reproduction rate.
For starters, Sectors 28, 27 and 29 will be covered in coordination with resident welfare associations, area councillors and locals.
“We aim to start the drive in one area or sector so that all the dogs, especially the females, are sterilised. Since dogs do not leave their area, this will help in controlling their population,” said MC commissioner Anindita Mitra.
She added, “Before catching street dogs for sterilisation, the civic body will inform local residents through public notices, announcements and banners.”
The MC commissioner informed that geo-tagged and time-stamped pictures of the dogs will be taken at the time of their lifting and dropping. This will ensure that the dogs are not dislocated and will help in keeping a count of the sterilisations.
Two new dog catching vans bought
Explaining the measures being taken to control the stray dog population, Mitra said, “Two new dog vans have been purchased. One will be used by the NGO for the ABC programme and the other will be used by the dog control team to address problems of biting or rabid dogs.”
The dog census conducted by the UT animal husbandry department in 2018 had identified 12,920 feral canines in the city. However, MC claims to have sterilised 20,799 dogs between 2015 and 2021.
At present, MC’s sterilisation drive is proceeding at a snail’s pace due to inadequate staff and low capacity at the animal care centre in Sector 38 (West).
Second animal birth control centre to be ready by April end
Mitra said MC was expecting to open another ABC centre, with a capacity of 310 kennels, in Raipur Kalan by the end of April. The existing ABC centre at Sector 38 (West) has a capacity of 104 kennels.
“The first ABC centre has been operational for one year. We have given directions to install CCTVs and sync them with mobile phones of officers to ensure that the dogs are treated humanely. Separate funds have also been allocated for maintenance of the ABC Centre and MC officials have been instructed to ensure weekly visits,” Mitra added.
