Alappuzha: With the street dog menace rearing its ugly head again in various parts of Alappuzha, Collector John V Samuel on Saturday directed officials to take measures on a war-footing, including the commencement of the functioning of two Animal Birth Control (ABC) centres in a week.

This is after P P Chitharanjan MLA (Alappuzha constituency) and U Pratibha (Kayamkulam) brought the issue to the notice of the district collector during the District Development Council (DDC) meeting while accusing the officials of failing to take any action that has worsened the issue.

The population of stray dogs has witnessed a rise in the absence of functioning ABC centres. People are living in fear, with the morning walkers becoming the easy target, they charged.
The collector directed the officials to complete the procedures and commence the functioning of the ABC centres at Alappuzha and Kanichukulangara by the first week of November itself.

All three existing ABC centres in the district -- at Mavelikkara, Alappuzha, and Kanichukulamgara, have virtually become defunct. This was after the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) introduced strict provisions on April 19, 2021, to grant the Certificate of Registration to the ABC centres.

“The ABC centre at Mavellikkara is defunct while the officials are making efforts to meet the standards stipulated by AWBI, but are yet to get the same,” sources said.

The same has resulted in a spurt in the population of stray dogs. Over 50 people were attacked by stray dogs in the last week alone in different parts of the district.

When contacted, Sajeev Kumar K R, Deputy Director, District Animal Husbandry Department, said the procedures for obtaining the license for the ABC centres at Alappuzha and Kanichukulangara have entered the last phase.

“We hope to get the license by November end and commence full functioning of the centres by the first week of December. Tenders for infrastructural facilities, including 50 cages, have already been floated” the official said.