Maneka questions dogs sterilisation prj, officials defend it

An ongoing sterilisation project for stray dogs here has raised hackles of Union Minister Maneka Gandhi, who has sought a report from district authorities claiming it was "illegal" and had led to the death of 150 dogs.
The district authorities and the Minister are now at loggerheads with Patiala mayor Amarinder Singh Bajaj saying that a veterinary doctor of Uttrakhand Imran Ali, who was engaged by a local NGO for the sterilisation project, had lodged a complaint with his office alleging that Maneka had threatened him.
Maneka, however, told PTI that the allegation was false and that due to fear of being caught, the officials were trying to give a "communal slant" to the issue.

The Women and Child Development Minister said she has sought a report from Divisional Commissioner, Patiala for allegedly awarding an "illegal" tender for sterilisation of 5000 dogs. She said that about 150 dogs had reportedly died during the project.
Raising objections to the manner in which the sterilisation contract was given, Maneka said the organisation carrying out the project was not registered as an NGO.
"Normally a tender is taken out to give contracts for sterilisation of dogs. The NGO enrolled by them was completely fake as it is not registered at all, forget about it being registered with Animal Welfare Board. How was this unregistered group of two men given a government contract of Rs five lakh," the Minister said in Delhi.

Maneka, who is an animal rights activist, alleged that the group has given a fake address of Utttarakhand.

"The dogs are killed through brutal catching, overcrowded confinement, no water or food, extremely poor surgery and same day released - all of which is illegal. The dogs that were thrown back onto the streets after sterilisation had gaping wounds, stitches that came apart," she said alleging that the doctors had no training in dog sterilization and did not know how to catch dogs.
Maneka, who is also heading the NGO People for Animals (PFA), said a complaint in the matter was also sent to a member of Veterinary Council of India.

However, district officials defended the project.
Commissioner of Patiala Municipal Corporation Indu Malhotra said that the civic body has handed over the project to the organisation on the recommendations of the Punjabi University since it had done a good job in the past.
In the first phase, 1,000 dogs would be sterilised and would be administered anti-rabies vaccines, she said.
A special team of 10 members from Uttrakhand has been hired to curb the problems of stray dogs, she said.
The team of experts will capture 20-25 stray dogs daily and perform sterilisation and vaccination on them in the two-day process.

A special mark would be out on the dogs' body for their proper identification, she said.
The administration has been spending Rs 800 on every animal, she said.
She said that "close circuit cameras have been installed at the government clinic. The staff would photograph each dog after sterilisation on daily basis. This would help maintain a proper data base.