A Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation worker catches a dog in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, March 1: The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) today launched a drive to sterilise stray dogs in the city. The drive was organised in collaboration with Society for Protection of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) that is part of the animal husbandry department.

The workers of SPCA visited the Unit VI, Unit VII and adjoining areas today and got hold of 40 dogs for sterilisation, which will take place at Shahid Nagar polyclinic of the animal husbandry department.

The dogs would be sterilised after a day’s stay at a kennel adjacent to the clinic, which is run by SPCA.

Sources said the programme is being run under the guidance of Mahesh Chandra Mishra, consultant to the SPCA. Efforts are also being made to train vets from other parts of the state so that the procedure can be replicated in other cities as well.

Sterilisation programmes have also been organised in the city in the past. Over the years 3,937 canines were sterilised at the Shahid Nagar clinic. Now, sterilisation facilities for stray dogs are also being planned in Rourkela, Paradip, Berhampur, Cuttack and Sambalpur.

The drive began following pressure from BMC’s ward councillors, who had raised the issue of growing canine menace in the city in the last council meeting of the corporation. Councillor of ward No. 18, Pratap Kumar Sahoo, said more than 25 dog bite cases have been reported from Baramunda Housing Board and adjoining areas in the last two months.

The BMC provides Rs 500 per dog, for sterilisation with the facility at Shahid Nagar capable of sterilising at least 40 stray dogs in a week. The dogs need to stay at the kennel adjoining the polyclinic for five days after operation. There are 120 cells in the three kennels at the Shahid Nagar clinic.

“Stray dog menace has become a major cause of worry. Dog bites lead to the spread of rabies. The stray dog population also contributes to a rise in road accidents. To control rabies, at least 70 per cent of stray dogs should be sterilised and given anti-rabies vaccine,” said Shahsi Bhushan Swain, veterinary expert of the state animal birth control programme.

“The birth control programme follows the guidelines of Animal Welfare Board of India and Animal Birth Control Rules – 2001. Properly implemented, this can bring down stray down population within six years,” said Swain adding that the stray dog population of the capital was around 20,000. The state-run polyclinic took the responsibility of sterilising dogs in 2008.

Councillors of ward No. 41 and 49 alleged that sometimes the sterilisation operations fail and dogs give birth even after going under the knife. The councillors said those who catch dogs should inform them before visiting areas under their wards.

However, at certain places the drive faced resistance from local residents. Some of them resisted thinking that the dogs were being taken to be killed.

“We are counselling people on the benefits of the service provided, but many are not convinced. The BMC authorities should try to create adequate awareness about the issue. The councillors should also come forward to cooperate with us,’’ said Sashi Bhusan Swain, veterinary expert.

Canine catch

• Stray dog population in Bhubaneswar is nearly 20,000
• Age group of dogs selected for sterilisation is between one and six years (normal lifespan of a dog is around 12 years)
• Most canine-infested pocket of the city is ward No. 18 — Baramunda Housing Board Colony — from where 25 cases have been reported in the last two months
• Animal Husbandry Department officials say sterilisation drives take place regularly, but councillors are not convinced
• Even earlier the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) entrusted a few NGOs to carry out sterilisation job. But as the results were not satisfactory, BMC handed over the responsibility to the state-run veterinary polyclinic in June 2008
• The civic body is again conducting a sterilisation drive in association with an NGO as there has been no decline in the stray dog population