MC begins sterilisation of street dogs in city

Tribune News Service

Patiala, September 25

The Municipal Corporation has started the process of sterilising street dogs in the city after a gap of over 1.5 years. Its previous tender for sterilisation lapsed in January 2022. It shortlisted the tender to the lowest bidder in November 2022 but faced issues with permissions from the Animal Welfare Board of India. The district has registered a total of 8529 dog bite cases in the first six months of the year, from January to June. As many as 13023 cases of dog bites were registered in 2022. Officials informed me that the municipal councils in Patiala are yet to begin a dog sterilisation process.

MC Commissioner Aaditya Uppal said the MC has allocated a tender for this purpose for two years. He said, “An average of 15 dogs will be vaccinated and sterilised during this process on a daily basis. The dog catchers will bring the street dogs to the animal birth control centre in the city, where the dogs will also be provided post-treatment care. They will then be dropped back to their original places.”

Joint Commissioner Manisha Rana said the MC will conduct a survey of the number of street dogs here.