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.