Bhubaneswar, Sep 14: The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) will launch a comprehensive street dog census across all 67 wards of the city from September 17 to 24.
The initiative aims to improve the health and welfare of street dogs, implement effective sterilisation programmes, prevent the spread of diseases such as rabies, and reduce traffic-related incidents involving stray animals. It will also help the civic body gather accurate data on the canine population to support better street dog management across the city.
The census will be carried out in two phases. The first phase will begin on September 17 and continue until September 20, while the second phase will run from September 21 to 24. The enumeration will take place during the early morning hours, between 5:00 am and 7:00 am, a time when street dogs are more visible in localities.
To ensure thorough coverage, as many as 420 teams have been formed for the task. These teams will include Swachh Sathis, sanitation workers, and BMC officials, who will visit every street and lane under BMC’s jurisdiction to record the dog population. The data collected through this exercise is expected to assist the civic authorities in planning targeted animal birth control measures, vaccination drives, and other welfare initiatives for street dogs.
BMC has urged all residents to cooperate with the census teams and support the smooth execution of this important public health and animal welfare effort.
