Chandigarh MC Gets 4 Additional Dog-Catching Vans For Enhanced Operations

The Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh is set to ramp up its drive to sterilize stray dogs and catch rabid or biting canines. To this end, the corporation has proposed the addition of four more vehicles for canine-catching and unveiling a new dog pound in Raipur Kalan next month.

Currently, the corporation has only two dog-catching vehicles, but once the new ones are procured in about a month, five will be pressed into service to catch stray canines for sterilization, while one will be used to catch rabid and biting dogs.

With the MC looking to get the Raipur Kalan-based dog pound, which has 310 kennels, in addition to its existing Sector 38 dog pound with 110 kennels, the new vehicles will help augment its canine-catching capabilities.

For formal approval, the proposal will be tabled in the upcoming MC’s Finance and Contract Committee meeting.

Having already adopted the newly notified central norms for stray dogs, the corporation had recently started its area-wise sterilization drive from Sectors 27, 28, and 29 in coordination with area residents.

The MC plans to sterilize at least 90% of the total dog population within a given area before moving on to the next area after giving prior information to the area councilor and residents.

To aid in canine-catching efforts, UT’s ‘I’m Chandigarh’ app is being used to capture geo-tagged dog-catching pictures and ferry them back to the same place after sterilization.

In addition, the state-of-the-art pound will have a dog care unit where injured canines will be treated. It will also house a laboratory, a hospital, and an operating theater. Along with sterilization, vaccination of feral dogs will also be carried out.

Currently, the MC is making do with only two vehicles, but with the addition of the proposed four new vehicles, the canine-catching operations are expected to gain momentum.