Take away strays, colleges & hosps write to KMC

Kolkata: A section of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation health department officials is finding it an uphill task to respond to the requests from the govt-run healthcare and academic institutes for relocation of stray dogs from their campuses. Recently, the principal of Lady Brabourne College, located in Park Circus, wrote a letter to the KMC borough VI chairperson Sana Ahmed requesting her to vaccinate, sterilize and relocate several stray dogs from the college premises. According to a college source, some strays have been chasing students and creating panic among them. However, a group of students is averse to the idea of driving the strays out on the grounds that the majority of them have never done any harm to either students or the teachers.
However, according to an official of KMC, looking after the vaccination and sterilization project for the city's stray dog population, though the civic body is capable of conducting vaccination or sterilization camps for the strays, it was not possible for them to relocate them. The official conceded that the requests are coming from the government institutes following an SC order. The Supreme Court on Nov 7 ordered permanent removal of stray dogs from sensitive areas including govt schools, colleges, hospitals and public transport hubs. The verdict mandates that, following sterilization and vaccination, the stray dogs must be shifted to designated shelters and not released back into these specific locations. However, KMC sources said there was no scope for the civic body to shift the strays to any designated shelters, as the work for setting up such shelter was yet to begin.Authorities of NRS Medical College Hospital and National Medical College Hospital have also approached KMC for relocation of stray dogs from the hospital premises.Lady Brabourne principal Siuli Sarkar said: "After the SC order, we felt some steps should be taken. Otherwise, it's becoming difficult for us to control stray dogs. We noticed some students feed dogs on the campus, but many students and teachers have a phobia. A few days ago, two teachers were injured when they collided with some students, who were running in fear of the stray dogs." Though her letter has been sent to the civic officials looking after the stray dog wing, no action can be taken now for want of infrastructure, a source said.