Cuttack: At a time when the stray dog population in the Silver City here is on the rise, a canine sterilisation centre of the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) has been lying unutilised for last several months.
According to the locals, the number of stray dogs in the city has gone up manifold in last few years. Incidents of dog bites have become a common affair in the city. Daily, a couple of persons are admitted to the Sriram Chandra Bhanja Medical College and Hospital (SCBMCH) with dog bites, locals said.
This apart, many bikers and scooterists are facing accidents on city roads due to the stray dogs. “Stray dogs have become a threat to school-going children and senior citizens. They are also causing inconvenience to the morning walkers,” said a local of Badambadi area.
It is worth mentioning here that the CMC had established a dog sterilisation centre at Buxibazar in 2016 by spending around Rs 25 lakh. The motive was to sterilise stray dogs to reduce their population in the city. However, the centre has been shut down due to shortage of manpower, sources said.
It is learnt that the civic body does not have adequate staff and equipment to tackle the stray dog menace. “The CMC authorities seldom bother to address the stray canine issue in the city. They are yet to launch the dog sterilisation programme,” said a social activist.
CMC health officer Umesh Panigrahi said they have written to the veterinary department seeking their help to run the dog sterilisation centre.