Long way to go: Only 4,300 dogs sterilised in Amritsar so far

Charanjit Singh Teja

Amritsar, April 24

The Municipal Corporation (MC) has sterilised more than 4,300 dogs at the Animal Birth Control (ABC) centre since August 2021, but residents want that the drive should gather pace and a change should be witnessed at the ground level.

It will take five years to sterilise 55,000 dogs in the city. Theit number will further increase in coming years. There is a need to speed up the sterilisation drive. More ABC centres should be established. Kuljit Singh, a local activist

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According to veterinary officials, there are more than 55,000 dogs in the city and their numbe is rapidly increasing. Even after having a modern ABC centre, which is equipped with the required infrastructure, the Municipal Corporation sterilises 800 dogs per month.

“It will take five years to sterilise 55,000 dogs in the city. Their number will further increase in these years. A canine gives birth to seven puppies on an average. There is a need to speed up the sterilisation drive. More ABC centres should be established. There is a proposal of the government to set up an Animal Birth Control centre in each constituency. It will help the MC in controling the birth of canines,” said Kuljit Singh, a local activist.

Dr Darshan Kashyap, in-charge, veterinary wing of the MC, said, “The sterilisation drive is going on at full swing. We make a roaster of different areas to catch dogs. Both male and female dogs are being sterilised. The effects of this drive will be visible after some years. There are some cities, where the number of dogs are decreasing, as they had initiated the sterilisation drive a decade ago. We are getting sufficient funds for the drive. The funds have been sanctioned for sterilisation of 10,000 more dogs.”

The MC made several efforts to start ABC in the past several years and three projects had failed in this period. With the efforts of Mayor Karamjit Singh Rintu, the current project has been running without any interruption and residents are hopeful that it would bring the change at ground-level. Mayor Karamjit Singh Rintu, however, claimed that they would make efforts to speed up the project.

Dog-bite cases in the past

• A 9-year-old child was brutally mauled by canines at Bhangoi village in Mehta here on April 2 leaving him grievously injured
• A stray dog attacked five persons in Gol Bagh last year
• A woman was attacked by a canine at Fathegarh Churian Road on September 28 last year