15,000 dogs in 6 ‘risk zones’ to be vaccinated in 10 days

The BMC in Mumbai will vaccinate around 15,000 stray dogs in six wards with high rates of dog bites. The annual vaccination drive will then extend citywide.

Strap: The BMC has targeted 6 wards for now, where a high number of dog bite cases are reported. Following this, the annual vaccination drive will be undertaken for dogs across the city

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Mumbai: Around 15,000 stray dogs from six wards in the city where a high number of dog bite cases are reported will be vaccinated by the BMC in the next 10 days.

As these wards are considered ‘risk zones’, the civic body has targeted these wards for now, followed which the annual vaccination drive will be undertaken for dogs across the city, said Dr Kalimpasha Pathan, general manager of the Deonar abattoir.

The six wards are P North ward which include areas like Malad east and west, R South ward which include areas like Kandivali east and west, R Central ward which include areas like Borivali east and west, R North ward which include areas like Dahisar east and west, S ward which include areas like Bhandup, Vikhroli, Powai, etc, and T ward which include areas like Mulund east and west.

Besides 15 NGOs working on the ground to vaccinate the stray dogs, BMC said free vaccine doses will be provided by Boehringer Ingelheim India, which will be providing its anti-rabies vaccine, Rabisin for the vaccination drive.

According to a survey in 2014, there were around 95,000 stray dogs in Mumbai. The BMC said that this number is now estimated to have reached about 1,64,000. These stray dogs need to be vaccinated against rabies, said a BMC official.

For the first time, the BMC will be using a mobile-based application to track the vaccination, health and location of the dogs.

A dog census is conducted by BMC every 10 years. A survey of stray dogs in Mumbai is proposed in January 2024 and based on that survey, a rabies vaccination drive is proposed in February 2024, said BMC.

The BMC also announced that it has extended the timing for rabies vaccination in hospitals for citizens till 10pm. More than 300 healthcare professionals have been trained to cater to rabies vaccination requests. Initially, the timings in the hospital were from 9am to 4pm, which has now been extended till 10pm.