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Panchkula dog kennel in appalling state, city’s strays being sterilised in Chandigarh
The Panchkula MC’s tall claims of sterilising stray dogs at the kennel in Sukhdarshanpur village notwithstanding, strays are being taken to Chandigarh for sterilisation
The Municipal Corporation’s (MC) tall claims of sterilising dogs at the dog kennel in Sukhdarshanpur village notwithstanding, stray dogs from Panchkula are being taken to Chandigarh for sterilisation. The strays are only kept under observation at the poorly-managed kennel in Sukhdarshanpur.
In a press statement issued about a week ago, mayor Kulbhushan Goyal said, “The MC has intensified the sterilisation of stray dogs. From March 3, 80 dogs have been sterilised. In Sukhdarshanpur Kennel House, Bezubaan Sanstha organisation is doing the work of Animal Birth Control.”
However, when the HT team visited the kennel, it found no facility for sterilisation was available at the kennel. A member team manned the operation theatre (OT), which had no operating table or lights. There was no electricity, water connection and the doctor’s duty room were also found to be in a poor state.
To add to that, the refrigerator being used to store the rabies vaccine was found shut with polythene bags stored inside.
The OT at the kennel, which was constructed using public funds, offered no facilities. Notably, the issue was raised by Shaurya Gilhotra Bezubaan Sanstha, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) hired by the MC, in a prior meeting as well.
“The biggest problem is that there is no generator set. Four-five-hour-long power cut is common here. Then there is no water connection. The staff brings their own water bottles. For dogs, we request MC to supply a tanker,” said Dr BD Chaudhary, the doctor at the facility.
He said that the Bezubaan Sanstha, along with the MC, looks after the dogs, adding that the civic body has provided two compounders, one worker who looks after helpline numbers, one doctor, three dog catchers and a sanitation worker..
“They catch stray dogs from the city and bring them to the kennel, which is at least 20 kilometres away. We tie up with Chandigarh’s veterinary hospital and take dogs for sterilisation. We bring the dogs back here and after keeping them for three-four days, we release them,” the doctor said.
When asked why dogs are taken to Chandigarh, he pointed out that it was impossible to operate in the facility’s OT.
On Monday, there were 23 dogs in the kennel, of which 15 were yet to be sterilised.
The cells, where dogs were kept, also had a foul smell and there were no fans at the facility. Despite authorities claiming that proper diet is ensured, the dogs sat next to empty food and water containers.
Speaking on the issue, MC commissioner Dharamvir said “We will look into the matter and make sure that it is resolved at the earliest.”
NGO to stop sterilisation work
Bezubaan Sanstha, meanwhile, has said they have decided to stop work after Tuesday, citing the MC’s failure to improve the state of the dog shelter. ‘
The NGO’s founder Shaurya Galhotra said, “We got the tender for Animal Birth Control in 2019 for a year and we completed 6,000 sterilisations. The work was done at the veterinary hospital, Sector 3, back then. Our tender was extended till April 2022, but we could only do 200 surgeries before withdrawing in September 2021, as we were shifted to Sukhdarshanpur and there are no facilities.”
“In February, the authorities asked us to restart the work and promised that infrastructure will be improved within 15 days. But there is no facility and we have been forced to tie up with hospitals in Chandigarh, which costs a lot,” he added.
