In line with the Supreme Court’s order last month to set up designated feeding spots for stray dogs, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has begun action.
On Tuesday, MCD Standing Committee Chairperson Satya Sharma directed officials to identify three to four such locations in each ward. The move aims to allow residents to feed stray dogs at fixed points and help curb incidents of canine bites.
According to the official sources, the Chairperson has sought immediate action, including constant monitoring of the selected spots and submission of a detailed report within a week.
During the meeting, Sharma acknowledged that the population of stray dogs is on the rise in the national capital, and expressed serious concern over the surging cases of dog bites in the city.
She also outlined the efforts taken by the civic body to address the issue, with intensified sterilisation and vaccination programmes at MCD’s Animal Birth Control (ABC) centres. Through this campaigns, the agency hopes to control the stray dog population and prevent the spread of dog-borne diseases.
Sharma also highlighted the problem of pack formation and conflicts among dogs, which she attributed to people feeding strays on streets and in public places. Such situations, she added, increase the risk of accidents and dog-bite incidents.
The Supreme Court in early August issued a dramatic order calling for the removal of all stray dogs from the streets of the national capital, prompting outrage from animal rights activists.
Days later, the country’s top court amended that order after a larger bench of judges looked at the case, effectively allowing municipal authorities to return most strays to the neighbourhoods they were picked up from after being sterilised and vaccinated. The court also ordered the civic body to establish designated spots for feeding the canines across the national capital.