ABC work stalled for months as civic body fails to act on MoU; NGO bills yet to be cleared; modified van for dog catching now transports tyres
File photo of stray dogs at the government quarters, Pajifond-Margao.
MARGAO
Will the tragic death of a toddler at Ponda after being mauled by a pack of dogs serve as a wakeup call for the BJP-controlled Margao Municipal Council to shed its lethargy and initiate proactive steps to put the derailed Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme back on the tracks?
Consider this: It’s a year now since the Margao Municipal Council had inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a city-based animal welfare to undertaken the ABC programme in the commercial capital. It’s another matter that the MoU was signed by the civic body without calling the mandatory Expression of Interest (EoI) when the former Chief Officer Gaurish Sankhwalkar did not deem fit to comply with the codal formalities.
Sadly, the MoU is not put into effect yet for reasons best known to the councillors, Municipal babus and the Powers that be controlling the civic body. Till date, the Municipality has not cleared a single payment to the NGO. Inquiries by The Goan has only revealed that the NGO had submitted bills for payment till the month of December, but not a single payment has been made till date.
Resultantly, the dog catching activities by the NGO has been adversely affected by the civic body’s lethargy and indifference. For, with no payments coming from the civic body, the NGO has been left with no option than to terminate the services of the dog catchers.
That’s not all. The Margao Municipality had last year modified and upgraded a rickshaw vehicle into a dog catching van. For the last couple of months, the dog catching van was virtually dumped at the Sonsodo waste management complex. The Goan now understands that the Municipality has now put the rickshaw dog catching van to transport tyres from the municipal garage to the service stations.
With the ABC programme virtually derailed in the city for lack of support from the Margao Municipal Council, the immediate fall out of the situation is the rising stray dog population across the city. Pack of dogs attacking humans is not something new in the commercial capital. In fact, one comes across strays at every nook and corner of the city, but the prevailing situation has not spurred the civic body to resolve issues, if any, with the NGO.
Sadly, while the stray dog issue has emerged as a burning issue in the commercial capital, the issue seemed to have found a serious mention on the agenda of the councillors and politicians representing the Municipal area. Otherwise, how does one explain the silence of the elected representatives to the lethargy and apathy of the Margao civic body in taking proactive steps to take the ABC programme to its logical conclusion?
Questions that have come to haunt the MMC
Margao Municipal Council’s indifference towards tackling the stray dog menace has left the NGO and citizens baffling, throwing up a host of questions.
One, questions are being raised why the Council had inked the MoU with the NGO sans floating an Expression of Interest (EoI) last year when the civic body has no intention to give effect to the memorandum. Has the Margao Municipal Council notified a dedicated stray dog Helpline for the benefit of the citizens facing stray dog issues in their respective localities?
That’s not all. As per the High Court order on stray dogs, the primary responsibility of tackling the menace rest with the local bodies, including the Municipalities and panchayats. On this count, is the MMC under the impression that it has no more roles to play in the ABC programme after inking an MoU with the city-based NGO.
