PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
Dehradun municipal commissioner Namami Bansal expressed strong displeasure after finding that the work to increase the number of dog shelters, which she had ordered earlier to manage aggressive dogs, had not started. She directed the concerned officials to begin construction and expansion of the dog canals immediately and ensure secure enclosures, CCTV surveillance, a quarantine section, a medical room, automatic food and water systems and proper sanitation standards in the new shelters. She also instructed regular monitoring, quality checks and strict adherence to deadlines for the shelter development. Bansal held a detailed review meeting of the veterinary section at the Animal Birth Control (ABC) centre in Kedarpur on Monday. Officials presented the annual dog registration report and informed her that the corporation recorded 2,207 dog registrations in the current financial year, generating revenue of Rs 4.17 lakh. They said that the increase resulted from the ease of the online portal, an increase in registration camps, ward-level awareness drives and a special door-to-door campaign to identify pet dogs. The commissioner asked officials to focus on wards with low registration numbers and achieve complete registration in the coming months. During the review of dairies, the department reported issues with waste disposal, drainage, cleanliness of animal areas and odour control. The corporation issued challans worth Rs 1,19,000 this year against dairy operators who did not follow the rules. Bansal directed officials to take action within 24 hours on complaints related to dairy waste flowing into drains, road littering and foul smell. The veterinary section also reported an increase in cases of catching aggressive dogs in recent months. Bansal asked the department to strengthen ongoing operations and complete the pending shelter expansion without delay. She further instructed the formation of a rapid action team to catch stray cattle and other free-roaming animals in the city. While reviewing ABC operations, Bansal talked about the need for complete transparency in dog catching, surgery, medication, recovery and release. Officials told her that they were increasing the average daily sterilisation capacity. The commissioner directed them to upload daily sterilisation data, GPS-based dog-catching records and photo or video reports of post-treatment release on the system. She told teams to respond quickly to complaints about dog groups, biting incidents and night time disturbances and to increase patrolling in all wards.
