The much-hyped Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rehabilitation Project of the Kochi Corporation, started three months ago to curtail dog  menace in the city, has come to a complete standstill since March.

According to the Corporation officials, as many as 40 street dogs were  sterilised under the project initially, but it failed to click owing to a  huge public protest.

“Our plan was to sterilise the stray dogs and provide them shelter for a    few days. They would later be let back to the streets. However, there was a  stiff public opposition from the residents who opposed the move citing  safety issues and public nuisance. After which we were forced to let out the sterilised dogs at Kundanoor,” a Corporation official said.

The Corporation has sought the help of various departments, including the veterinary hospitals in the city, to address the issue.

The official added that dog menace will continue to be a big problem, if people fail to cooperate with the local bodies.

 “These dogs, once sterilised won’t be able to reproduce. In that way, we can bring down the number of dogs in the streets. The Corporation does not have any go but to release the dogs after sterilisation because of the lack of proper facility to house them,” he said.

Corporation Health Standing Committee chairman T K Ashraf said the  Corporation was currently tackling the problem by identifying a proper place to set up a dog shelter.

'Winners Club'

Clearing the city of stray dog menace is an agenda of this year’s Corporation budget. A project ‘Winners Club’ has been proposed to address the issues.

“We are yet to identify a location. Once we identify a proper location, we will move ahead with the project. We hope that the project will be a huge success. The ABC project will also be mobilised in the next few months,” Asraf said.

Meanwhile, Gracy Joseph, councillor, Kaloor South said the dog menace is mostly felt at Azad road and Ponnoth Road. Pedestrians and those going for morning walk at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium are often troubled by the stray dog. “A lot of hotels dump food waste on to the roads which the dogs feed on. Strict measures to prevent such activities should be implemented,” she said. The dog menace isrampant at West Kochi too.