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 A small room with a nicely marbled floor and a good roof. It is a new animal
shelter, built by the Chennai Corporation to carry out the Animal Birth Control (ABC)
programme in Lloyds Colony, Royapettah. Eight sheds have been constructed in a 1500 sq.ft.
area to provide pre and post operative care facilities to canines. The civic body says it
has spent nearly Rs. 6 lakhs to provide better care for the first time. Before 1996, dogs
were caught and killed brutally. With the introduction of the ABC programme, the stray dog
population has come down. The reduction of stray dog population can be felt only after a
couple of years, said Ms. Jayachandravandana, Deputy Mayor, Chennai inaugurating the new
facility, recently.
The Blue Cross Shelter, in Velachery, conducts
about 400 ABC programmes a month. The canines are caught by the Corporation and are handed
over to the Blue Cross. Twice a week, a vehicle visits different areas of South Chennai
and brings stray dogs to the shelter for ABC, says Mr. Chinni Krishna, vice-chairman of
Blue Cross. With the new facility, the vehicle will add a trip to its schedule and the
animals will be brought to the Royapettah ABC centre, says Dr. T. P. Sekar, Veterinary
Officer of Blue Cross.
While the city tries to set its priorities
right to protect stray dogs, Panchayats and Town Panchayats around the city's periphery
are not responding well to the ABC plan. They continue to catch the creatures and kill
them mercilessly.
(Source: The Hindu)
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