Civic body left with just 3 months to ink new agreement with NGO: Officials
Stray dogs being fed in the commercial capital.
MARGAO
As the world is bracing up to celebrate September 28 as the World Rabies Day, to spread awareness about rabies prevention, the Margao Municipal Council has a task cut out – will the civic body ink a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a NGO to take the Animal Birth control (ABC) forward in the commercial capital.
For, the MoU entered into by the Margao Municipal Council with a local NGO had expired three years ago on December 31, 2020, with successive Councils still dragging its feet either to renew the MoU or tie-up with a new body to take the ABC programme to the logical conclusion in the last three years.
If sources in the Margao Municipal Council are to be believed, the Margao civic body is bracing up to soon take up mass sterilization of the dogs in the city in coordination with the Worldwide Veterinary Services (WVS).
In fact, after the Council gave its nod for the mass sterilization campaign, the Municipality has pointed out that the civic body has helped to obtain permission for use of land near the KTC bus stand to set up the sterilization camp.
Sources further informed that the civic body has helped to obtain permission for water and power connection for the NGO to take up the sterilization exercise.
Sources, however, pointed out that the Margao Municipality has been left with just three months to ink a new agreement with NGO to take care of the stray dog problem.
It isn’t clear whether the Margao Municipality will float an Expression of Interest inviting Animal lovers and NGOs to take up the ABC programme or would renew the agreement with the existing NGO to take the program forward.
In fact, the MMC had received flak from all quarters for its apathy and indifference in either renewing or inking a new MoU with animal lovers vis-à-vis the ABC programme.
That’s not all. That the Margao Municipality has been caught napping in toning up the infrastructure in tackling the stray dog population is evident by the fact that the civic body had neither helped the NGO to increase the number of cages nor has provided land for the expansion of the programme. It’s not out of place to mention here that the ageing dog caching van has outlived its utility since it was purchased by the civic body around a decade ago.
“The Margao Municipality never showed seriousness in tackling the stray dog menace. Since the time the High Court had imposed a ban of killing of dogs in the late 90’s, the civic body just handed the ABC programme to the animal lovers as if it was not their responsibility”, an official admitted, adding that the fact that the civic body has not renewed the MoU or inked a new memorandum with the animal lovers showed the seriousness with which the MMC has been handling the burning issue.
