Year on, Chandigarh MC yet to pick contractor for stray dog sterilisation project
Residents complained about the increasing dog-bite incidents and MC’s poor record in the stray dog sterilisation project
With the municipal corporation (MC) failing to award the contract of the sterilisation project for the last year, stray dog menace continues unabated.
The number of dog-bite cases in the city continue to rise as figures went up from 19,074 in the 2020-2021 period to 25,235 in the 2021-2022 period. The same was in continuation of a recent upward trend.
Residents rue the increase in the stray dog population and MC’s poor record in sterilising dogs.
Speaking on the issue, resident welfare association (RWA), Sector 38 A-B, president Joginder Singh, “The stray dog menace is worsening. The population of dogs has increased and for the residents it is becoming harder to vent out at night. The dog bite cases have also increased. Even if the MC is carrying out the sterilisation, the dog population is still increasing.”
Terming the MC exercise in dog sterilisation work an on-paper exercise, Baljinder Federation Of Sector Welfare Associations (FOSWAC) chairperson Singh Bittu said. “The MC has totally failed in controlling the dog population. For the last so many years, MC has been claiming it is sterilising dogs, but then how the population has risen so high. The dog bite cases are also consistently increasing.”
The issue of stray dog menace has repeatedly rocked the MC General House meet in the last few months. The same also was a key issue during last year’s MC elections.
MC revises tender document
Hoping to get better results from its dog sterilization drives, the MC, earlier this year, revised the tender document, putting more stringent parameters to validate sterilisation numbers.
Performance and proof shall be monitored through a mobile application. In it, GEOtagged pictures of each dog shall be taken at the time of them being picked up and getting dropped off.
Two-third of the sterilisation drive targets are female dogs as their sterilisation ensures population control more efficiently. After its latest call, only one firm came forward to participate in the tender process, which now has to be floated again.
MC commissioner Anindita Mitra said MC would award the single bidder if no others come forward again as per MC rules.
Fresh survey plans dropped
MC, meanwhile, has dropped the plan to conduct a fresh survey of the stray dog population in the city. The last census in Chandigarh was done in 2019, which had shown an increase in stray dog population by 65% in seven years from 2012.
While the number of stray dogs stood at 7,847 in the census conducted in 2012, it climbed up to 12,900 in 2019.
“A concern was raised that dog surveys could throw up inflated stray dog population figures. The people conducting stray dog surveys are generally the same people that apply for the dog sterilisation contracts. So, MC has decided to put on hold plans to conduct a fresh census,” an MC official said.