Responding to the fatal dog attack on Parag Desai, 50, executive director of Wagh Bakri Group, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s (AMC) Cattle Control and Nuisance Department (CCND), is stepping up its stray dog sterilisation campaign. Desai attempted to fend off street dogs when he was fatally injured close to his Bopal home.
About 200 stray dogs were found by the AMC in the Bopal to Ghuma area. According to an insider at AMC, they have taken 40 dogs for sterilisation and have put out a tender for Rs 8 crore to involve more NGOs in the project.
For Rs 9.11 crore, the AMC sterilised 98,333 dogs between 2020 and 2023, but the effect appears to be insignificant. As many as 21,502 dogs were sterilised in 2020–21 for Rs 1,91,02,600, a city tabloid reported.
The following year saw 30,360 dogs sterilised at Rs 2,77,32,730, and in 2022-23, the numbers went up to 46,471 dogs and Rs 4,43,20,359, the report added.
Within 10 months this year, 25,993 dogs were sterilised for Rs 2,53,82,163.
As of now, AMC and four NGOs are collaborating on dog sterilisation. To address the growing stray dog problem, an AMC representative emphasised the need for additional partners. The official was quoted as saying, “We are a bit slow and careful, dealing with numerous issues.”
AMC pays Rs 976.50 for each dog’s sterilisation. With the expansion of AMC’s jurisdiction after 2019–20, there are now roughly 3.75 lakh stray dogs in the country. According to claim records, only 1.5 lakh dogs have been sterilized.
A senior AMC official told the tabloid that despite the increase in stray dogs from the jurisdiction expansion, they are following all the guidelines to address the issue. “We are doing our best to control the stray dog menace according to the guidelines,” he said.
Also Read: Wagh Bakri Scion Parag Desai Dies of Brain Haemorrhage
