Bhubaneswar: Taking cognizance of allegations regarding animal cruelty at a government veterinary hospital in Shahid Nagar here, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) suspended Wednesday the in-charge doctor for ruthlessly torturing dogs while implementing the animal birth control (ABC) programme.
The civic body has issued a show-cause notice to the private organisation, engaged to implement the ABC programme in the city. The BMC also suspended sub-divisional veterinary officer (SDVO) Saroj Kumar Pradhan for alleged cruelty towards dogs, sources said.
Saroj Pradhan was accused of sterilizing the dogs without giving anesthesia. He also allowed a number of dogs to die without providing necessary medical attention. “He used to tie the dogs to the porch and operate on them in scorching heat. Even after the dog’s surgery, no antibiotics or pain relievers were administered, resulting in the dog’s premature death,” said a source.
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“Taking account the concerns raised by the citizens along with a preliminary enquiry, the Odisha government has posted a new SDVO for Bhubaneswar with immediate effect. We have instructed the service delivery agency for the ABC programme to deploy a mix of experienced and young doctors along with skilled surgeons and paramedics for the ABC programme,” said BMC Commissioner Sanjay Singh.
Singh along with Mayor Sulochana Das, Animal Husbandry Director Kendula Vijay and other BMC officials inspected the SDVO office and said the civic body’s internal monitoring team shall keep strict vigil on any violation and negligence in service delivery with regard to the ABC programme.
“A detailed bi-lingual standard operating procedure (SOP) shall be developed for the ABC programme. Additional CCTVs and a display board listing available amenities shall also be installed at the centre. The private agency engaged for the implementation of the ABC programme may be blacklisted if we do not receive a satisfactory response on the show-cause notice,” said the mayor.