Logistical hiccups paralyse MMC’s ABC programme

Stray dog population on the rise in the commercial capital, but logistics to support the ABC programme has failed to meet the growing requirements.

Photo Credits: Santosh Mirajkar

MARGAO
The next time you come across a dog straying in your housing society or happen to find an injured dog along the roadside in the commercial capital, don’t expect a dog catcher to come and take the dog to the dog shelter at Sonsodo.

Reason: There is neither a dog catcher available to catch dogs nor a van to transport them to the dog shelter, leaving citizens to fend for themselves.

Inquiries by The Goan have revealed that the dog catchers and the helper have not reported for work for the reason they haven’t been paid for the last many months. Reason: The Margao Municipality has not cleared the bills of the NGO, around Rs 60,000 a month, since the time the civic body had inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the animal welfare NGO earlier this year.

What could be the reason behind MMC’s delay in clearing the NGO’s payments? Well, while the NGO had been submitting the monthly bills to the Margao Municipal Council for payments, no official has been designated by the civic body till date to verify and check the bills before the accounts section disburses the payments. Resultantly, not a single bill submitted by the NGO has been cleared by the civic body, leaving the dog catching and sterilisation operations paralysed.

At the dog shelter, dog cages are full, with 20 cages sheltering around 40 dogs for the moment. The end result shows that the NGO has neither manpower at its disposal to catch dogs nor any facility to transport the dogs to the shelter for sterilisation or treatment, indicating a total system collapse in the implementation of Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme in the commercial capital.

In such a scenario, hapless citizens have been left to fend for themselves to catch the strays and transport the animals to the dog shelter.

The emerging situation in the commercial capital may sound strange for the reason when the local bodies, including the Margao Municipal Council, is mandated by the High Court to implement the Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme to control the dog population.

No payments for manpower to run  the shelter

The NGO engaged by the Margao Municipal Council to conduct the ABC programme says the amount of Rs 60,000 does not suffice to meet the growing expenses. It has been pointed out that around Rs 50,000 goes towards the expenses of the two dog catchers, a cleaner, and the van driver.

Besides, the NGO has to engage the services of a veterinary doctor and a veterinary assistant to carry out sterilisations.

If animal lovers manning the dog shelter are to be believed, funds promised by the Margao Municipality go towards the payment of wages and salaries of the manpower, leaving them with no option than to scout for food to take care of the strays.

What has left the animal lovers in a tight spot is that even the promised funds have not been forthcoming from the civic body despite the MoU in place. “We have been carrying out the ABC programme out of sheer love for the animals. The last time, the MMC cleared our bills was in 2021. Since then, the civic body has not paid us any money. The funds are not forthcoming even after signing of the MoU,” a trustee informed.

Dog catching van abandoned: MMC councillors, officials under scrutiny

MARGAO: What’s a dog catching van doing at the Sonsodo waste management site, is a question that needs an answer from Margao councillors and Municipal babus?

For, the dog catching van is out of bounds of the NGO handling the ABC programme in the commercial capital. Take note, after the condemnation of the old dog catching van as per the guidelines in force, the MMC had modified a rickshaw into a makeshift dog catching van. 

Reason: A brand new dog catching van would cost the civic body a whopping Rs 12 lakh, while the MMC has spent just Rs 48,000 on the modified van.

The moot question, however, remains unanswered – why is the dog catching van left stranded at the Sonsodo waste management site when the vehicle ought to have been plying on the city roads to transport canines to the dog shelter for sterilisation and treatment.

The Goan understands that the Municipal automobile section has not handed over the dog catching van to the NGO for the reason that no authorisation in writing has come from the higher ups till date. Officials further pointed out that no copy of the MoU inked by the civic body with the NGO is furnished to the automobile section till date to facilitate handing over of the van to the NGO.

Spacious and permanent dog shelter still a far cry

MARGAO: Just imagine a situation when a 20-cage dog shelter is accommodating around 40 dogs at a time for want of a spacious dog shelter?

Well, the dog shelter at Sonsodo will complete 15 long years on March 31, 2025. However, neither is the existing shelter expanded till date nor the cages increased to meet the growing requirements of stray dogs in the commercial capital. In fact, the dog shelter was a makeshift arrangement put in place by the Margao Municipality 15 years ago before the operations were finally shifted to a spacious place after a year.

Sadly, a spacious and permanent dog shelter is still a far cry with no help and assistance forthcoming from the civic body till date. The MMC had around a year ago evinced interest in shifting the dog shelter to neighbouring Curtorim village after a joint inspection of the place by civic officials and animal lovers. Nothing has been heard on the new place in the corridors of the Municipal building till date, leaving animal lovers with no option, but to use the makeshift space as a dog shelter.