The Mayor of Delhi Dr. Shelly Oberoi held an emergency meeting of Veterinary Department officials. The meeting was held after the unfortunate incident that took place in Vasant Kunj some days ago. During the meeting, Mayor Dr. Oberoi took account of the prevailing situation and heard the concerns of the department. She pulled up officers for laxity, and directed the department to ensure no such incident is repeated. The mayor has now asked the officials to prepare an action plan within a week on the issue of saving Delhiites from stray dogs. The Mayor has also called a meeting of NGOs related to animals, Gaushala operators and veterinary experts.
The officials informed the Mayor about efforts which have been made to control the dog population. It was informed that MCD works with various NGOs to control the population of stray dogs. However, it lacks necessary infrastructure in reducing the population, the Mayor noted. Currently, MCD has 20 sterilisation centres, 16 of which are functional. Officials informed that to reduce the dog population in the city, there is a need for more sterilisation centres. Dr Oberoi noted that the MCD hadn’t conducted a proper census on the population of stray animals for many years.
The Mayor took notice of the issues and directed officials to strategise a solution towards the problem. She was informed that after the Vasant Kunj incident, 4 teams have been deployed to look into it and approx. 50 dogs have been picked up, out of which 90% were found sterilised.
Mayor directed officials to make continuous efforts in ensuring that cattles and stray dogs don’t cause problems to Delhi citizens. She also assured support of councillors on the issue. Dr Oberoi has directed the department to submit daily reports on dog & cattle catching efforts of the department.
Deputy Mayor Shri Aaley Muhammad Iqbal, and Rajendra Nagar MLA Shri Durgesh Pathak were also present along with Additional Commissioner, Veterinary Department, Veterinary Department Director and Zonal officers were also present in the meeting.
