HYDERABAD: Despite Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC)’s claims that they doubled the Animal Birth Control (sterilisation) efforts for stray dogs to control their population, the ground reality tells a different story. Even after the directions from Hyderabad Mayor Gadwal Vijayalaxmi, there has not been a significant increase in stray dog sterilisation.
The GHMC asserts that sterilisation under the ABC programme has increased to 300 dogs per day at Animal Care Centers and NGOs located in Fathullaguda (LB Nagar cone), Chudi Bazar (Charminar zone), Patel Nagar (Khairatabad zone), KPHB Colony (Serilingampally zone), and Mahadevpur (Kukatpally and Secunderabad zones).
However, the figures provided by the civic body for the past four months indicate that the actual sterilisation rate ranges between 3,500 and 4,900 dogs per month, averaging around 150-160 dogs per day. This falls short of the estimated 9,000 sterilisations per month based on the claimed increase. Animal Care Centers face limitations in terms of capacity, surgical tables, veterinary doctors, staff, and dog kennels.
GHMC relies on Animal Welfare Organisations (AWOs) recognized by the Animal Welfare Board of India to carry out sterilisations, and they are currently sterilising around 250 dogs per day. According to the dog census conducted by GHMC, there are approximately 1.75 lakh stray dogs that still need to be sterilised.