Stating that the administration has sanctioned 11.91 acres of land to construct rehabilitation centres/dog pounds in urban areas of the district, Udupi Deputy Commissioner T.K. Swaroopa asked officials concerned to prepare action plan for the same at an estimated cost of ₹33.93 lakh at the earliest.

Chairing a meeting on preventing stray dog menace at Rajatadri, the district office complex in Manipal-Udupi on Wednesday, Ms. Swaroopa said the land was allocated in the limits of the Udupi City Municipal Council, town municipal councils of Kundapur, Karkala and Kaup and Byndoor and saligrama Town Panchayats.

The DC expressed her displeasure over not catching even a single stray dog and subjecting it to sterilisation in Udupi CMC limits from March this year. “This is despite many case of stray dog bites being reported in the city,” she noted.

Asking urban and rural local bodies to strictly implement the Supreme Court guidelines on identification, relocation, sterilisation, sheltering, etc., of stray dogs, Ms. Swaroopa told them to empanel trained dog catchers. Adequate facilities should be provided for their sterilisation and rehabilitation.

20,282 stray dogs

Ms. Swaroopa said the administration has identified 20,382 stray dogs in the district, including 7,197 in urban areas and 13,185 in rural areas. Similarly, a total of 446 stray dogs were identified on the premises of public buildings of urban areas. Nodal officers appointed to prevent stray dog menace in every urban local body should discharge their duties responsibly.

The DC told officials to inform the general public about one each notified feeding place for every ward in an urban local body and one in every gram panchayat. Feeding stray dogs at places other than identified locations would lead to the registration of FIRs against those feeding dogs.

After sterilising and vaccinating stray dogs, they should be groomed to look attractive so that people could adopt them, the DC said, asking officials to hold stray dog adoption programmes.

Subrahmanya, Project Director of the Urban Development Cell, M.C. Reddappa, Deputy Director of the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services Department, Babanna, Deputy Director of the Veterinary Polyclinic and others were present.