Stray dogs a mecing threat in city!

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, Oct 8: The stray dog mece is going to be a mecing threat to the people of Guwahati, a metropolitan which is set to be a smart city.

The GMC in 2014 did take a measure to control the street dog population in the city with a project, but for reasons best known to it, the civic body stopped the project. Now the situation is back to square one.

According to official sources, through an NGO, JBF, the civic body started the Rs 20-lakh project to sterilize street dogs in Guwahati from September 2014 to March 2015. However, the NGO failed to continue the project in full swing after March 2015 due to cash crunch. The NGO, according to sources, is to get Rs 12 lakh from the civic body. Now the population of street dogs in Guwahati is back to square one. According to a survey, there are about 40,000 stray dogs in Guwahati. There are also complaints of stray dogs attacking people at night from various areas in the city.

When asked on the mece, GMC’s lone veteriry doctor Manoj Goswami said: “GMC did start a project to sterilize stray dogs in Guwahati. However, it was stopped later. As to why the project was stopped is known only to the higher-ups in the civic body. However, the fact remains that –according to a standing order from the Supreme of India, every city should have dog shelters, per cremation grounds and ban on killing of any animals. Guwahati is set to be a smart city, but it has no dog cremation ground, nor does it have any dog shelter. Only one veteriry doctor and three supervisors of the GMC have to look after animal health in the entire city area. The civic body has to think seriously to check the rising street dog population in the city.”

When asked on the mece, JBF’s Dr. Shashaka Shekhar Dutta said: “With some ten persons we carried out the job of sterilizing street dongs in the city. We were asked to sterilize 4,500 stray dogs in Guwahati from September 2014 to March 2015. We could meet the target. However, after that GMC didn’t even feel like renewing contract with us, nor did it clear our dues. We’re still to get Rs 12 lakh from the civic body. We met Guwahati Mayor and GMC Commissioner many a time to get our dues cleared, but to no avail. Since it is a serious mece, I hope the government will do something tangible to control the population of stray dogs in the city.”