A stray dog being caught for sterilisation. A Telegraph picture

Bidhannagar Municipality has decided to spend Rs 150 on vaccinating and sterilising each stray dog in the township. The estimated cost of the project is around Rs 10 lakh.

The task of catching, vaccinating, sterilising and releasing the dogs in the areas from which they were picked up will be entrusted to NGOs. The civic body wants to begin the work after Puja.

The density of strays in the Salt Lake municipal area has been found to be over 500 dogs per square km, while in the city it is 190 per square km.

Stray dogs have turned the roads of Salt Lake unsafe for pedestrians as well as pet dogs. There are several instances of pet owners being bitten as they tried to fend off packs of street dogs from attacking their pets.

“We have decided to engage NGOs for tackling the dog menace as complaints against strays have been pouring in at our office,” said Nandagopal Bhattacharya, the member chairman-in-council of the municipality. The civic body will soon invite tenders from interested parties, he added.

“Some people are afraid of dogs or feel disturbed by their barking at night. They want stern action against street dogs. Again, there are some who are fond of animals and protest against the use of tongs for catching strays. So, we have decided to control their population, which is a humane way of tackling the problem,” said Biswajiban Majumdar, the chairman of Bidhannagar Municipality.

According to Majumdar, the concentration of street dogs is closer to the markets, where they get enough food.

A preliminary survey on canine population was carried out in the Bidhannagar Municipality area more than two years back. The total dog count in the 23 wards and 68 blocks was a little over 5,000, which must have gone up now.

The dog-catchers will have to adopt a humane method to catch them for sterilisation instead of using tongs, Majumdar added.

“However, people living in Salt Lake may not feel any immediate improvement in the situation. They will have to wait for a couple of years for the dog population to decrease,” said Bhattacharya.

This year, the municipality has earmarked Rs 1 lakh for controlling the dog menace. “We will make provisions for more funds in next year’s budget for the purpose,” he added.