SAMBALPUR: The Sambalpur Municipal Corporation (SMC) has achieved a significant milestone in its ongoing stray dog sterilisation drive, surpassing its annual target well ahead of the schedule.
The civic body completed 1,280 sterilisations in the first week of current fiscal year, surpassing the initial goal of 1,000 surgeries for 2024-2025.
After a gap of eight months from July 2023 to March 2024, the drive commenced on April 16 last year by forming a state-level monitoring committee, and since has made remarkable progress.
The drive involves a systematic process of capturing stray dogs, performing surgeries, providing post-operative care and at last releasing them back into their original territories as per the standard operating procedure (SOP).
To identify the sterilised dogs, one ear is trimmed during the procedure.
SMC Commissioner, Vedbhusan said, with streamlined operations and strengthened manpower, the corporation has set clear targets and is systematically covering more areas to achieve the desired results.
Despite the progress, some residents remain concerned over stray dog-related incidents.
“The sterilisation drive is a welcome step, but the problem of dog attacks, especially at night, persists. More measures are needed to rehabilitate these dogs and minimise such incidents,” said Sonu Saraf, a local resident.
The SMC intends to perform 1,400-1,500 sterilisations annually to reach the long-term goal of sterilising all 8,000 stray dogs in the city.