Shimla might see less stray dogs with this new initiative

Shimla is perhaps one of the most visited hill stations in North India, and rightly so. But if you have been here, you would have noticed the massive number of stray dogs roaming around its lanes. In fact, the hill city has been trying to curb the ever-increasing population of stray dogs for years now. Currently, the city has around 2000 stray dogs on its streets.

A new initiative has been launched to fight the menace now and is quite an interesting one. The municipal corporation of the city has announced a scheme that invites the locals to adopt a stray dog; anyone doing so would be rewarded with a waiver on garbage collection fee as well as free parking in the city.

It has to be noted that Shimla can equip a maximum of 11500 vehicles while the current number of vehicles in the city borders a mammoth 50000. It leads to a very steep parking fee for the vehicles; thus making the adoption scheme all the more lucrative. The adoption will also lead to a waiver on the garbage collection fee for such households.

The municipal corporation has modelled the initiative after a similar one in a city in the USA. To make it foolproof, those who adopt a stray dog will also have to ensure that the dogs are given adequate medical care, support and life conditions. If found lacking on any of the fronts, they would be slapped with a fine of INR 10000.