MARGAO
Hazard a guess how many stray dogs have been sterilised in the commercial capital last month under the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Programme.
The entrance to the Margao Municipal building may provide an answer. Otherwise, consider this. As many as three stray dogs were spotted right at the Municipal entrance. Visitors to the Municipal building will confirm that strays have indeed made the entrance to the civic building their resting place in recent days.
Just question the civic officials on the presence of strays in the Municipal building premises and don’t be surprised to get a reply saying the ABC programme has come to a screeching halt in the city.
Reason: The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with city-based NGO, South Goa Welfare Trust for Animals, (SGWTA), has expired on December 31, 2020. Inquiries by The Goan has revealed that neither the civic body has renewed the MoU with SGWTA nor has the municipality taken up the ABC work departmentally or has outsourced the job to another NGO or organisation.
The Goan further understands that the MMC has also not cleared the dues payable to the NGO handling the ABC programme, with sources saying the payments are due for the last several months.
The end result being that sterilisation of stray dogs have come to an abrupt end in the commercial capital over the delay by the civic body to take a call how to go about implementing the ABC programme.
Inquiries have further revealed that while civic officials are believed to have come in touch with a new NGO to take over the ABC operations, there’s no firm decision yet from the Municipal administration till date.
Outsourcing the ABC programme is not something new for the Margao Municipal Council. In fact, since the Goa bench of the Bombay High Court had banned shooting of stray dogs in 1999, the Margao Municipality had adopted the court decision in 2000 by roping in an NGO Goa Animal Welfare Trust (GAWT) to handle the strays. The NGO worked with the municipal council till 2009, before the civic body opted for the South Goa Welfare Trust for Animals (SGWTA) to handle the job.
Around two years ago, the Margao Municipal Council had agreed to pay a monthly amount of Rs 70,000 to the NGO to handle the strays. Sources, however, say that paucity of cages coupled with the absence of land even to dispose of the carcass of the stray dogs, besides other issues, came in the way of the smooth operation of the ABC programme in the commercial capital.
Sources in the know informed that while concerned officials are on the job to rope in prospective NGOs to carry on the ABC programme, the officials have also mulled moving the district Collector, South and the Director of Animal Husbandry to lease out the space at the Veterinary hospital, Sonsodo to carry out the ABC programme.
Civic officials have also mulled procurement of a new dog catching van to replace the ageing vehicle.
