No stray dog shifted to shelter yet: BMC

Bhubaneswar: Seven months after the Supreme Court in Nov ordered that stray dogs be shifted from public institutions to any shelter, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has not been able to do so because the Khurda administration is yet to provide land for it, BMC sources said. On Tuesday, the apex court reiterated that stray dogs must be relocated from public places while hearing a plea seeking a stay on last year’s order.

“We are yet to get land for creating a permanent facility, where dogs will be sheltered permanently, unlike a kennel, where they are kept for a limited quarantine period after their sterilisation surgery. Dogs will be provided food and healthcare facilities at these shelters,” said Debi Prasad Kund, who is in charge of the animal birth control (ABC) programme in BMC.

BMC officials said they are looking for land to develop three varieties of shelters — one for 100 dogs, another for 500, and the third for 1,000, as per the SC guidelines. “The dogs will be housed in shelters until their natural death,” said a BMC officer.

Earlier, BMC identified 457 institutions where stray dogs were frequently reported to be creating a nuisance. It then planned phase-wise catching and rehabilitation in line with the SC direction. The civic body had asked the institutions to create boundary walls to prevent dogs from entering their premises.

Animal rights activist Jivan Dash said rehabilitating stray dogs in permanent shelters is a herculean task as it requires huge funds, manpower and space. “It is easier said than done. The civic body needs to have a dedicated team like the one for the ABC programme and sterilisation. Keeping cattle, whose number is considerably less than the canine population, is easy. The progress in the past six months is nil in this regard,” he said.