Dog sterilisation to take a hit

With the trifurcation of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), the drive to sterilise dogs in the Capital has hit a roadblock in the north and east corporations.

With the trifurcation of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), the drive to sterilise dogs in the Capital has hit a roadblock in the north and east corporations.

HT Image

The cash-strapped corporations would have to put the drive on hold for a couple of months as there is not a single dog sterlisation facility available within their jurisdiction.

Moreover, all NGOs roped in for the drive are based in areas that are under the South Delhi Municipal Corporation.
According to a senior official of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation’s veterinary department, the nine NGOs tasked by the MCD to with the sterilisation programme are all in south Delhi.

“It would be very difficult for us to control the stray dog menace in east Delhi municipal corporation (EDMC) and north Delhi municipal corporation (NDMC). The dog population could go up by 30-40% in east and north corporations,” the officer added.

According to estimates, there are over 2.8 lakh stray dogs in the Capital and the number could climb beyond three lakh in a couple of months if there’s no sterlisation drive in north and east Delhi as this is the breeding season.
However, officials feel that sterlisation facilities could be opened by the east and north corporations over the next few months.

“We have to start from scratch. A fresh survey on dog population in both areas has to be conducted. Later, NGOs would be identified to start the drive and simultaneously the sterlisation facility will also be created,” the officer said.
“There’s also a proposal to tie up with the SDMC to use their sterlisation facility,” he added.