BHUBANESWAR: The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Mission Rabies India-Worldwide Veterinary Service and the College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry at OUAT here to vaccinate the stray dogs and make the capital rabies-free.
The MoU, signed in presence of BMC commissioner Chanchal Rana and senior officials of the Mission Rabies India and OUAT Veterinary Science College, stressed on strengthening rabies prevention, surveillance, diagnostics and response mechanism through structured and scientific interventions in the city. Officials said the MoU doesn’t involve any financial provision from BMC’s side.
The Mission Rabies India will carry out the vaccination. It will act as the technical partner and strategic advisor in the field of surveillance and provide substantial logistic support for the project, while the civic body will oversee its implementation with the monitoring support from the Veterinary Services College. Veterinary interns will participate in the drive.
“The vaccination drive is aligned with India’s vision to eliminate dog-mediated rabies from the country by 2030,” said BMC nodal officer for the implementation of the anti-rabies vaccination project Prasanta Kumar Sika. He said even if 70 per cent dog population is covered in the vaccination drive it will help creating herd immunity, helping the civic authorities in creating a rabies-free city, strengthening public health and animal welfare across Bhubaneswar.
As per the first comprehensive dog census of the city carried out by BMC last year, the state capital is home to a total 47,126 stray dogs, which account for around 3.2 per cent of the city’s 1.3 million population.