CHENNAI: In light of the recent surge in complaints regarding stray dogs, the Greater Chennai Corporation on Thursday passed a resolution to increase the number of animal birth control (ABC) procedures performed annually from an average of 15,000 to 50,000.
The council meeting held at Ripon Building on Thursday also decided that two new ABC centres will be established in Ariyalur (Ward 17) and Perungudi (Ward 184). The strays captured will be provided a collar with a QR code, which when scanned will reveal the details of the dogs, including the location from where it was taken.
While four veterinary doctors, 31 attenders and 12 security personnel at present work at the existing ABC centres at Pulianthope, Kannamapet, Meenambakkam, and Sholinganallur, the total count will soon be increased to 15 veterinarians, 125 attenders and 21 security personnel across all the centres, including the two new ones. Furthermore, seven more new dog vehicles will be added to the existing fleet of 16. The entire streamlining process is estimated to cost around Rs 9.45 crore.
In the wake of the GCC signing an MoU with Alliance Francaise of Madras to teach French as an optional language in some of its schools on Wednesday, the lone BJP councillor, Uma Anandan, proposed that these schools should also teach Hindi. The suggestion was met with an uproar from the other councillors.
Anandan said Hindi would be useful for students while attempting UPSC and other competitive exams. However, Mayor R Priya clarified that French was not being imposed, but rather just being provided as an optional subject.
Complaints over poor roads, delay in desilting of canals and drains, and shortage of doctors in wellness centres and school teachers topped the discussions at the council meeting. Ward 38 Councillor Nethaji U Ganesan highlighted severe water stagnation issues faced by residents from Wards 34 to 48 last December and called for the desilting of Captain Cotton, Buckingham and Kodungaiyur canals.
In response, Priya said stormwater drains were being constructed in these wards at an estimated cost of Rs 23.24 crore. She also assured the members that sludge removal will soon begin in Buckingham Canal. The work has already started in Captain Cotton Canal. The desilting work, which was previously carried out zone-wise, will now be conducted at a ward-wise level.
The CPM, CPI and VCK councillors later staged a walkout expressing their concern over a resolution passed for extending the period of contract awarded to a private firm for transporting solid waste.
Plus points
New bus shelters will be installed across all the zones in Chennai at an estimated cost of Rs 8.46 crore
GCC will have its own wireless network similar to that of the police department. Rs 9.30 crore earmarked for this, including licence and royalty fees