Post Pictures, Location of Strays on App after Dog Sterilization

The Municipal Commissioner said that CCTV cameras had been set up at the Animal Birth Control Centre, and the same has been renovated.

To make sure that the dog sterilization is not done just on paper, the company carrying out sterilization will have to post its location and picture while picking up a street dog and dropping it back.

The last census, in 2018, pegged the number of street dogs in Chandigarh as 12,000. Therefore, the new rules have been introduced in the terms and conditions for handling dog sterilization in Chandigarh.

When picking up the dogs and dropping them at the exact location, the agency must post a picture and location on the ‘I am Chandigarh’ app.

Anindita Mitra, Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, said, “Instead of maintaining a manual record as used to happen previously, this time, record keeping will happen through “I am Chandigarh” app in which geotagged pictures of the canine will be clicked both at the time of picking up and dropping off at the same location. As per rules, the dog cannot be displaced. The target is for two-thirds females and one-third males, as sterilization of females detentions dog population more effectively”.

Commissioner also said a new dog catching unit has also been ordered, which will be handed over to the NGO and a driver. In addition, the MCC will do maintenance and fuel so that the NGO can focus on core sterilization, vaccination, and deworming activities.

The General House had supported the short-term tender given to an NGO, Compassion for Animal Welfare Association (CAWA). The organization will charge Rs 1,700 per dog. A license plan had come up before the House in a Saturday meeting. It was stated that the NGO fulfills the terms and conditions of the e-tender, they said. Therefore, the technical evaluation committee decided to open a financial offer.

The rate quoted by the bidder was Rs 1,700 per dog for catching, anti-rabies vaccination, birth control operation, deworming, and post-operative care,” the agenda had said.

The officials said they had invited offers, but only one participated, and the tender was canceled. After that, a short-term e-tender was again invited on May 4 and opened on May 20. The lowest target for dog sterilization is around 150 street dogs a month, but generally, the agency does about 400-600 street dogs per month.