15 April,2009 07:39 AM IST | | Somita Pal
Plans to have night dogcatcher teams to curb menace of stray dogs kept on hold due to high cost, fewer complaints
The stray dog menace in Mumbai may continue for a while, as the BMC has put its plans of having night dogcatcher teams on hold, citing high maintenance costs.
Dr G T Ambe, joint executive health officer, BMC, said, "We kept the proposal on hold because of the high expenses involved. An NGO quoted Rs 40,000 per unit per month for the job. We realised that at this rate, we will have to spend more than Rs 1 lakh per month. Since we have already issued Rs 12 crore for the dog sterilisation programme, it is pointless to spend more because of a few complaints about stray dogs."
A staff at BMC's disaster control room said that they get three to four calls daily on stray dog menace.
Last year, in the wake of the increasing number of complaints of stray dog menace in the city, the BMC had decided to deploy two units of dogcatchers to patrol the city at night. As per the plan, each unit would deploy four dogcatchers and one dog control officer to patrol the city between 10 pm and 6 am, said the BMC.
The BMC plans to sterilise at least 50,000 dogs this year compared to 35,000 dogs last year. "We will try and sterilise at least 4,000 dogs per month," said Dr Ambe.
Dog menace in city
52,000 dog bites, 75,000 strays and 12 deaths due to dog bites in 2008. 33,100 dogs sterilised in 2008. Rs 350 spent on sterilisation if the BMC catches a dog and Rs 450 if the dog is caught by an NGO. 35 is the number of dogcatchers
To complain, call 23085118 (South Mumbai), 26409275/ 28808206 (Western suburbs), 25618000 (Eastern suburbs)
