KMC to start massive street dog sterilisation drive

Kolkata: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) will kick off an intensive drive for sterilisation and treatment of street dogs from November. Two camps will be held in each of the 144 wards of the civic body.

The Health department of the KMC has set a target of conducting sterilisation and treatment of 25 dogs per day in the health camps. The camp will continue till April 2018.

"KMC conducts sterilisation of street dogs at regular intervals. However, this is for the first time in the history of KMC that such a camp spanning for six months will be held. The state government has allocated funds for this purpose.

A number of NGOs working for animal welfare will help us in this venture," member Mayor-in-Council (Health) Atin Ghosh said.

A few months back, the civic body had launched a first-of-its-kind trauma care centre for dogs in Entally where veterinary surgeons registered under the West Bengal Veterinary Council offer treatment and even conduct operations on street dogs.

"There was hardly any place in the government level for treatment of dogs that suffer accidents or develop sores. This centre can treat over 35 dogs at a time," a senior Health department official said.

There are over 1.5 lakh stray dogs in the city. However, since January 2013, not a single person died of rabies in the city which shows the civic body's seriousness in sterilising street dogs. KMC has a dog pound at Dhapa where sterilisation of dogs are conducted, however, the civic body is searching for land to shift the dog pound as a number of residential complexes are coming up in that place.

Union Cabinet minister for Women and Child Development met Mayor Sovan Chattherjee at the KMC headquarters in June where the issue of shifting the Dhapa dog pound was discussed.