Stray dogs in south Delhi to roam in coloured collars

NEW DELHI: A collar strapped around the neck of a canine has traditionally been considered as the symbol of its pethood. In coming days, don’t be surprised if you spot stray dogs with colourful collars around their neck roaming around in south Delhi.
As part of its ambitious target to make Delhi rabies-free in the next 5 years, the south civic body has prepared a detailed plan to vaccinate and put collars on the stray dogs.

Dr Ravindra Sharma, the director of veterinary services in South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), said that every dog that is administered anti-rabies vaccine will be issued a multi-colour collar to signify its immunisation status. “As per our calculations, each collar will cost around Rs22 which is not much compared with anti-rabies treatment costs. Moreover, these collars glow in the dark so the safety levels against stray dogs will also increase,” Dr Sharma informed.
The action plan states that the colour coding of collars will be significant in identifying colony, ward, zone and Delhi municipal corporations after mass anti-rabies campaign. So far, seven animal bite-related deaths have been reported this financial year.
Dr Sharma further said that world over around 60,000 people die every year due to rabies and 36% of these deaths are recorded in India alone. “We have sterilised around 19,000 stray dogs this year so far,” he added.
Municipalities, however, face acute shortage of anti-rabies vials. While on average, 21,000 anti-rabies vials are required every year, only 2,000-3,000 vials were available this year. Several attempts to procure anti-rabies vials from private markets failed to materialise. “The government manufacturer is not supplying the vaccine from the last few months due to non-availability. Patients are either being told to purchase it privately or being referred to other hospitals,” he said.
In Delhi, no civic body has conducted a dog census in the past ten years. They are clueless on how many stray dogs roam around on the city’s streets. “The last pan-Delhi survey was conducted by erstwhile united MCD in 2009 in which the number of stray dogs in capital was found to be over 5.6 lakh. The number must have increased,” an official from the East Corporation said. As per the survey conducted by NGO Humane Society International last year, South Delhi alone has over 1.89 lakh strays.
"The civic bodies have floated tenders several times, but did not get any response. Since the stray dogs are mobile, their survey becomes a challenge,” the official added.