BMC to undertake census of stray dogs

In a bid to curb the menace of stray dogs in the metropolis, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) today gave its nod to undertake a second dog census.
A decision in this regard was taken in the standing committee meeting of the civic body today.
The Human Society International, a private agency, which has the experience of conducting census of stray dogs in Ahmedabad and Dhaka in Bangladesh has given an estimate of approximately Rs 9,82,600 to conduct the count in the city.
The BMC had taken up the sterilisation programme following the directions from the Bombay High Court and under provisions in the Central government's Animal Birth Control (ABC) (dogs) Rules, 2001.

The municipal corporation in its agenda today said that till now more than two lakh stray dogs have been sterilised, to control their population and increasing cases of dog bites.
The last dog census in the city was held in 2007 when the canine numbers stood at around 74,000. Now, it has risen to 2.5 lakh, according to corporator Saeeda Khan.

To take forward the sterilisation programme appropriately, a study group was formed which was chaired by the General Manager of Deonar slaughter house.
The study group, in its preliminary report said necessary measures with respect to sterilisation of stray dogs could be taken only after the census is completed.

The BMC has made a provision of Rs 12,00,000 in this year's budget to undertake census of stray dogs.