DogExpress
The stray dog sterilization project has come to a halt in a halt in the absence of labourers. The firm hired by the municipal corporation for the project is now arranging workers from other states. But as it is taking time, the work has taken a hit. The MC officials said workers had gone back home following the lockdown. “We will have to wait for another week for things to come on track. In the meanwhile, dogs that have been operated upon are being looked after,” they added.
After lockdown, the stray dog sterilization work was started again ward-wise. Officials had said that after completing the project in one word, they would move to the other.
MC senior veterinary officer Dr. Harbans Singh Dhalla said, “We had to stop catching dogs as labour is not available. Some of the workers left earlier and some are leaving now. In the absence of trained dog catchers, it is difficult to continue with the project. The firm will arrange workers by next week and then the work will resume on the double.
The firm is handling a similar project in other cities like Bangalore and Indore. It plans to bring laborers from Indore.
The civic body’s contract with the firm will end in December. For one dog, the MC pays it Rs 990. As the Animal Welfare Board of India has fixed Rs 1,400 per dog, the rate for dog sterilization will increase when a new firm is hired.
Meanwhile, two buildings are being constructed near the animal birth control centers to house dogs. While the MC is constructing one building, the other is being funded under the Smart City mission. The MC’s building is nearly complete but is yet to be handed over to the veterinary officer. And the second building’s inside work is far from over. These buildings will help augment the animal birth control program.
As of now, less than 20 dogs are sterilized in a day. As the buildings get ready, the number will increase to at least 50. Officials said the buildings would be ready by year-end.
This animal birth control program was started with an aim to control the growing population of stray dogs. Even as more than 40,000 canines have been sterilized to date since 2015, stray dog menace continues to hound Ludhiana.
Source: The Times Of India
Please Note: This article is not edited by DogExpress Team!
in Chandigarh, India. 
