The much-awaited Animal Birth Control Centre and Multi-Specialty Veterinary Hospital of the Kozhikode Municipal Corporation will be opened in a few weeks as work has been completed and staff appointed.
A recent meeting of the Corporation Council had approved the appointment of staff for the centre, the opening of which was being delayed for years due to minor administrative glitches.
The selection panel, including Mayor Thotathil Raveendran, development standing Committee chairman P.C. Rajan, Health Officer R.S. Gopakumar, Corporation Veterinary Surgeon V.S. Sreeshma, District Chief Veterinary Officer C. Salahuddeen and implementing officer K.K. Baby, has selected sixteen ABC surgeons, one anaesthetist, thirteen attendants, eight dog catchers (ABC assistants) and four sweepers for the hospital.
However, a programme manager is yet to be appointed as no suitable candidates turned up for the interview. An acting programme manager will be selected from among the surgeons until a suitable candidate is found.
Dr. Sreeshma said a trial run of two or three weeks of the centre would be launched soon, following which the formal opening of the centre would be announced.
She said the centre was now fully equipped and that all required sanctions had been obtained. However, the trial run was necessary to ensure that the equipment was fully functional.
It has been more than five years since the Kozhikode Corporation launched the project at Poolakkadavu, despite stiff opposition from the local people. The hospital has been designed to offer 24-hour consultancy and handle all veterinary emergencies.
It will also carry out survey, surgeries and vaccination of stray dogs under the ABC project. It will carry out periodic on-site vaccination drive for dogs. In an effort to cause no inconvenience to the local people, incinerators have been set up to burn biological waste produced during sterilisation.
There is also a water treatment plant to recycle the water used for bathing dogs.
