Sterilization of street dogs picks up pace in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: A major exercise taken up by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) to carry out 100 per cent sterilization of street dogs in a ward-wise manner is progressing briskly. The civic body has taken up Animal Birth Control Operations and Anti Rabies Vaccinations (ABC & ARV) for street dogs, including post-operative care.

According to officials, in the GHMC limits, more than 50 per cent of street dogs have been sterilized till August 10 while in the Serilingampally zone, 90 per cent of street dogs have been sterilized.

The street dog population in the GHMC limits as per a survey conducted by Blue Cross in 2020 was 4.61 lakh. Among them, 1.9 lakh have been sterilized while 2.61 lakh were yet to be sterilized. The programme was started on pilot basis in December 2020, before which GHMC used to catch street dogs based on complaints and sterilize them.

In the last eight months, GHMC has engaged five Animal Welfare Organisations (AWOs) to sterilize the street dogs in a systematic geographic approach. “As part of the programme, we are conducting 100 per cent sterilisation and Anti Rabies Vaccination of street dogs in one circle followed by another,” said a GHMC official.

After ABC & ARV, including rehabilitation for five days, the dogs are released in the same locality from where they were picked up by AWO personnel. GHMC has developed an exclusive app to monitor the entire process.

“Pictures of the entire process should be uploaded in the app with locations based on which payments will be released to AWOs. If the dog is released 100 meters away from the pick-up place, the details will not be accepted by the app and the payment will not be released,” a GHMC official said, adding that the GHMC was continuing its work of catching and sterilizing street dogs based on complaints.