Medical college area to be declared rabies-free

All stray canines in the zone sterilised

The Medical College ward was among the more affected regions in the city in terms of the rising number of street dogs. But by September 15, this area will also be the first to be declared ‘rabies-free’ and 100 per cent canine-sterilised.

The recently launched sterilisation programme had focused on this region in the past few weeks. This project is being conducted by the State government with the support of the Sri Sathya Sai Orphanage Trust.

The programme has gathered momentum over the past month with the organisers deciding to adopt a territory-based approach. Considering most complaints were reported from the densely populated Medical College region, dog catchers have been hard at work in this part of the city.

Dog population

Since the hospital premises see no shortage of food waste, the number of dogs had risen exponentially over the past few years.

Even during Corporation Council meetings on controlling the street dog population, it is Medical College that is most often brought up.

As part of the sterilisation project, over 200 dogs have been captured so far of which 140 were sterilised since August 1 and rest were given anti-rabies vaccination. The three dogcatchers were trained by the Worldwide Veterinary Service (WVS) in Udhagamandalam with expenses taken care of by the Sathya Sai Trust.

The surgery is carried out only at the District Veterinary Centre at PMG Junction.

To further build up the speed of operations, the Animal Husbandry Department will renovate part of their building at Kudappanakkunnu. This may take up to two months, said Sathya Sai Executive Director K.N. Anandakumar.

“Once this venue is ready, we will have an additional theatre capable of managing 10, maybe more surgeries at a time,” he said. One of the main reasons for the smooth functioning of this project, so far, is that there is a core team involved in this programme, he said.

“They are selected veterinary college graduates who were given ample training before the project began. They are learning to be quicker on the job as well,” Mr. Anandakumar said.