Civic body's canine control plan goes astray

Ahmedabad: While, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has allocated crores to control canine population in the city, all its efforts seem to have gone astray.
The number of stray dogs on city roads have only increased manifold. On Sunday, a pack of dogs hounded residents of Jamalpur and Raikhad with more than 20 cases of dog bite reported in a single day.
Mohammad Salal, 10, was bitten brutally by the menacing dogs on his way to school. "It was very scary. The dogs attacked me without any provocation and one bit me in the thigh. I was saved by passers-by," says the traumatized child.
While, AMC health committee member, Imran Khedawala, says, "These 20 cases in the walled city and too in just in a day, bare the helplessness of AMC authorities. The civic body is unable to figure out how to control the ever-increasing canine population. We will be filing a petition in Supreme Court against AMC authorities on this issue."
Meanwhile, the authorities seem to have woken up after these incidents. Chairman of health committee, Praful Rawal says, "We have intensified the drive to catch dogs. AMC's dog control squad caught 22 dogs from the walled city on Monday."
But, Rawal failed to give any satisfactory answer on how the dog menace in six municipal zones of the city was going to be dealt with. More than 90 dog bite cases are reported at municipal corporation-run hospitals everyday.
In September 2007, AMC awarded a sterilization project of around Rs 2.5 crore to two city-based NGOs, Animal Help Foundation (AHF) and ASHA Foundation. But, the project has failed miserably and only been a waste of public money.
AMC officials admit they don't have any figures on the sterilization drive conducted by the NGOs. The city has a stray dog population of 2.5 lakh. Ironically, AMC ends up spending Rs 1.5 crore annually on dog vaccination.
The dog control squad receives more than 75 complaints daily from people, asking to catch canines.
This squad has only three vehicles, one of which is not functioning. For the financial year 2008-09, AMC had proposed a dog pen in the city to house stray dogs. But, political bickering has led to inaction so far.