KAKINADA: The Anti-Birth Control (ABC) operation on stray dogs in Kakinada Smart City has come to a grinding halt due to pending bills worth Rs 38 lakhs. The contractors responsible for the program have stopped the process, leading to a surge in the stray dog population in the city.
According to municipal officials, the city has around 16,000 stray dogs and 600 pet dogs. On average, a dog’s life span is 14 years, and every dog can give birth to 6-12 puppies every six months.
Roughly 50 per cent of the female dogs could give birth to 80,000 puppies in six months and 160,000 within a year. On average, 20 per cent of puppies may die, according to animal husbandry doctors.
The Kakinada Municipal Corporation (KMC) has been conducting ABC operations since 2018, spending an average of `10 lakhs annually on the process.
The KMC spends Rs 1,325 on each stray dog for ABC operations. Jeeva Raksha Animal Welfare Society-Rajamahendravaram, Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals ,Kakinada, and Society for Nature and Animals Protection, Kakinada are working on stray dog control measures through ABC operations.
According to sources, the ABC operation process was stopped for the last three months due to a lack of funds. The halt in operations has led to concerns among residents, with many reporting cases of stray dog bites during the summer season.
“In the summer season, the stray dogs’ health condition turns panicky; they may bite everyone,” said Polaraju, a local dog protector.
The KMC Health Officer, Dr Pridvi Charan, stated that there are 20,000 stray dogs in the city, but only 9,000 were operated on in 2024. KMC officials gave a written reply to a senior citizen stating that around 16,000 stray dogs were in the city in 2026.
The KMC Health Officer clarified that the bill file has already been sent for budgeting. The Commissioner has already suggested to the concerned organisations that they should not stop the ABC operation process. The Commissioner inspected various areas in the city and noticed stray dogs in a few slum areas. Therefore, the process will resume within a few days, he stated.
According to KMC officials, they have been implementing the ABC operation since 2018. If that is correct, the city should now be stray dog-free, Citizens’ Initiative secretary Duvvuri Subrahmanyam criticised.
He stated that the Supreme Court’s directions for managing stray dogs and cattle must be implemented within the KMC limits. He also suggested arranging shelter homes for cows and stray dogs, and recommended identifying dogs after they receive the Anti-Rabies Vaccine (ARV).