NEW DELHI: Over 65,000 stray dogs have been sterilised and vaccinated over the past six months as part of efforts to control the stray dog population and curb the spread of rabies, according to official data from the MCD. During the same period, the capital has reported 49 rabies cases and 35,198 incidents of animal bites between January and June. To address these issues, an equal number of anti-rabies vaccines (ARV) were administered during this period, an official said.
In comparison, the civic body has projected that 97,994 dogs will be sterilised and vaccinated between April 2024 and December 2025. This follows previous years where 79,959 dogs were sterilised in 2023-2024 and 59,076 in 2022-2023, indicating a consistent increase in efforts.
Officials noted that the civic body is focused on enhancing the efficiency and capacity of the sterilisation network amid rising public concerns over stray dog attacks in various parts of the city.
To further tackle the issue, a meeting of the sub-committee of MCD was held on Thursday to provide relief to the residents from the growing problem of stray dogs.
It was decided in the meeting that in order to speed up the campaign for dog sterilisation, fresh dialogue would be established with the currently engaged non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and other capable institutions would also be connected to this process. In addition, other non-governmental organisations would also be invited.
It was further decided to seek the help of the Delhi Government and the Central Government to remove the rules that are coming in the way of providing relief from the problem of stray dogs and that the program of dog sterilisation would be planned constituency-wise. In the previous meeting of the Standing Committee, several councillors had raised the issue of stray dogs.
Meanwhile, CM Rekha Gupta directed officials to treat the matter not merely as an administrative task but as a social responsibility. She stressed the need for a comprehensive and humane approach to address the crisis.