The Erode Corporation has completed construction of an additional building at the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Centre in Solar and introduced a new vehicle to transport stray dogs, aiming to expedite the ABC programme in the city.
Stray dogs remain a major concern for motorists and residents across all 60 wards in the city, prompting public demands for effective measures. The ABC programme, which commenced in 2010, was halted within a few months and had not resumed until recently.
After a 13-year hiatus, in 2023, the civic body enlisted veterinarians to conduct a study using the global positioning system (GPS) and scientific methods to estimate the dog population. The study found approximately 27,000 stray dogs in the city and highlighted the need to restart the programme.
The current facility at Solar includes a shelter home with an operating theatre and pre- and post-operative wards. A customised vehicle with 12 compartments transports dogs to the centre, where 24 dogs are sterilised and vaccinated daily. After recuperating for five days at the ward, the dogs are returned to their original locations. Since the programme resumed on 9 January this year, 2,136 dogs have been sterilised.
At the current pace, it would take four years to sterilise all the dogs in the city, and hence the civic body has constructed additional surgery rooms and wards at a cost of ₹15.30 lakh and inducted a new customised vehicle for the purpose.
A senior health official told The Hindu that the expanded facility will allow for an additional 24 dogs to be operated on daily, resulting in an average of 1,200 dogs being sterilised each month. The new customised vehicle will be operational within a few days.
The NGO executing the programme is paid ₹1,650 for each dog it captures, sterilises and administers the anti-rabies vaccine before returning it to its respective neighbourhood.
