BMC to catch and rehabilitate stray dogs in phases from 457 institutions

Bhubaneswar: The animal birth control (ABC) wing of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has identified 457 institutions where stray dogs were reported to be creating a menace, with the civic body planning phased catching and rehabilitation of the canines in line with Supreme Court directions.BMC officials said the identified locations mostly included stadiums, hospitals, schools and college premises, where stray dogs tended to loiter in search of food. The civic body advised these institutions to create boundary walls to prevent dogs from entering their premises and to reduce repeated congregation around food sources.“We identified altogether 457 institutions that included private and govt offices as well.

The number of such stray dogs was around 5,000 out of a total of around 48,000 in the city. Such dogs will be caught and brought to shelters in a phased manner,” said Dr Debi Prasad Kund, BMC’s ABC programme in-charge.As part of the phased drive, BMC has already caught and rehabilitated 30 stray dogs from Kalinga Stadium. Similar action will be taken at other identified institutions under the BMC limits, including bus stands, hospitals, airports, railway stations, schools, colleges, and govt and private offices.

While mass anti-rabies vaccination will start from the first week of March, with BMC using the services of 60 veterinary interns from Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT), the civic body is aggressively conducting sterilisation of both male and female dogs daily. Winter is the breeding season for dogs, so BMC personnel are sterilising only male canines. The female dogs that were caught by mistake were released, BMC officials said.Recently, to expedite compliance with the SC directive on shifting stray dogs to permanent shelters, BMC wrote to the Khurda collector seeking land on the outskirts of the city for developing dedicated facilities.Besides sterilisation and anti-rabies vaccination, rehabilitation in permanent shelters is a key requirement in the SC directive, officials said. BMC is planning three categories of shelters as per guidelines — with capacities for 100, 500 and 1,000 dogs — where the animals will be housed for life with food and treatment.Until permanent shelters are developed, BMC will use its two existing kennels at Saheed Nagar and Mancheswar.BMC officials said the Saheed Nagar kennel is currently undergoing renovation and, once completed, will allow sterilisation of 20 additional dogs per day, taking the daily capacity beyond the current 20.