Bhubaneswar: The corporation will implement the animal birth control programme in the city after being alarmed by the frequent cases of dog bites here.

The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation will increase the number of sterilisation operations of stray dogs here by providing additional equipment and manpower to the veterinary dispensary at Saheed Nagar. The civic body will collaborate with the fisheries and animal resources department for the purpose.

At present, the civic body is conducting 300 sterilising operations on the stray dogs every month to keep tabs on their increasing population. "We are going to hold a meeting to decide on certain things for streamlining the animal birth control programme in the city," said a civic body official.

Sources said officials would have discussion on appointing an independent nodal officer for the programme, construction of kennels and additional operation theatres, procurement of dog-catching vehicles, equipment, medicine and vaccines among others.

Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena said they were aware of the problems and taking steps to control the stray dog menace. "We are conducting 300 operations every month, but it seems that we need to increase this number. We will fix milestones and take adequate steps to achieve those on time," said Jena.

According to the data available with the civic body, Bhubaneswar has a stray dog population of about 42,000, and the number is increasing almost two folds every year. According to the People for Animal, an organisation helping the civic body in their initiatives, the stray dog population will reach 10 lakh by 2020 with the present number of operations.

The organisation's convener Amulya Nayak said the stray dog population would keep doubling every year, which could only be controlled if the number of operations would increase.

"There is a need of mass sterilisation of these dogs or else controlling their population will be an impossible task," he said.

Patia resident Vishesh Patra said the dogs were absolutely making life a troublesome affair in the city. "They keep on chasing my car every time I start from my home. At any point of time, they can bite us," said Patra, a corporate employee.