Days after a 4-year-old girl was attacked by stray dogs in
Guduvanchery, in Chennai, Vellore Corporation on Wednesday announced
plans to inaugurate the Animal Birth Control Centre located behind
Muthumandapam, which had been lying in disuse, in the coming days.

Although
it was constructed at a cost of `18 lakh using the local body’s general
fund in 2009, the centre was not inaugurated. Following the attack on
the child in Guduvanchery, civic officials inspected the centre and
announced plans to clear bushes and clean the facility for use.

Corporation
Commissioner P Janaki Raveendran said, “The local body had identified
9,048 stray dogs in the city in a study.” She said the corporation would
begin a phase-wise sterilisation campaign targeting about 1,000 stray
dogs at a cost of `4.5 lakh. Raveendran noted that the Animal Welfare
Board of India would reimburse half the amount.

Mayor P
Karthiyayini said, “As per the norms of the Municipal Administration and
the Water Supply Department, the corporation called for tenders and
fixed `440 to be spent on each dog. The amount includes the expenses
spent on catching, conducting surgery and treating the animal for seven
days.” She added that the centre consisted of three rooms to conduct
sterilisation in addition to several shelters for treating dogs for a
week after the procedure.