‘P4' shot to Guntur Municipal Corporation's Animal Birth Control programme
At a meeting in the Municipal Commissioner's office on Friday, DPS representative Chukkapalli Rakesh submitted a letter of commitment to Mayor Kovelamudi Ravindra and GMC Commissioner Puli Srinivasulu. The pledge supports the State's 'P4' public-private partnership initiative.
The officials said complaints about stray dog attacks have increased, with approximately 30,000 stray dogs identified in the city. The GMC recently deputed a Veterinary Assistant Surgeon from the Animal Husbandry Department to oversee the programme.
The partnering organisations will contribute `3 lakh per month for 10 months to support sterilisations and anti-rabies vaccinations. Officials plan to implement a systematic daily sterilisation schedule to reduce dog bites and rabies spread. Veterinary Assistant Surgeon Dr Venkateswara Rao and representatives from DPS, the Pioneer Group and the trust attended the meeting.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
20 hours ago
- Time of India
Strays at GHs, a bitter pill to swallow for patients
Chennai: Stray dogs, many unneutered and unvaccinated, are a common sight in the sterile zones of Chennai's govt hospitals (GHs), including intensive care units (ICUs) and dialysis units. They freely wander in and out of general wards, where they sleep under patient beds and occasionally share meals with patients. Almost all public hospitals in the city, including children's hospitals, mental health institutes, and maternity hospitals, contend with packs of community dogs. "We don't know how this fellow got in here," said a security guard at Tower II gate of Rajiv Gandhi Govt General Hospital, pointing to a dog outside the CT scan area on Thursday. "This tower alone has two to three entrances. I guard just one. There is no one guarding the other two today. Sometimes they post elderly guards, but they can't run and chase dogs," she said. "This is a govt hospital. Don't expect facilities you see at a private hospital. " Doctors and hospital administrators say the dogs remain there due to availability of food. "Doctors, PG students, and even patients feed them. Why would dogs leave this place when they get what they want," asked Dr Magesh, dean in-charge of Stanley hospital. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 15+ Food That Clean Arteries (Most People Ignore) Undo You Can Also Check: Chennai AQI | Weather in Chennai | Bank Holidays in Chennai | Public Holidays in Chennai Dr A Aravind, dean of Omandurar Medical College and Hospital, said some dogs in the hospital have stayed back after their owners passed away. "We get patients from adjacent Tiruvallur, Chengalpet, and Kancheepuram districts or even Andhra Pradesh. Some patients bring their pets along. They are left behind when they die. I've seen at least half a dozen such cases over the past few months," he said. When packs become aggressive or there are complaints of dog bites, hospital administrators seek assistance from the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC). However, permanently removing these dogs from hospital campuses is not an option. Under the Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rules, 2023, street dogs can be captured only in two situations: as part of sterilization and vaccination drives to control their population, or in response to specific complaints such as dog bites or suspected rabies. Some times when patients, attenders or staff complain, the dogs are taken for observation and returned when they are found healthy. "Once every six months, GCC sterilizes dogs on campus and vaccinates them before dropping them back," said Vanitha Malar, RMO, Stanley Hospital. Dr M Jagadeesan, GCC's city health officer, said the civic agency's job ends with sterilization. "Stray dogs in sterile zones such as ICUs and OTs pose a clear sanitation hazard. Hospitals must take charge of preventing this," he said. Animal activists such as Sudha Chandrashekar, founder of SANS Animal Welfare Trust, suggest that hospitals should create designated feeding zones. "When feeding is restricted to just one designated zone, dogs will stay there. Hospitals must penalize anyone feeding he dogs on hospital premises," she said. Her trust helped DLF Porur establish such a zone for its campus. "Arbitrary removal makes no sense. Responsible coexistence must be the way forward," she said.
Time of India
21 hours ago
- Time of India
7 women pregnant after free IVF treatment at GMC
Panaji: Seven women who received free IVF treatment at GMC's Centre for Assisted Reproductive Treatment (ART) are currently pregnant. The centre operates under an MoU signed between the public health dept, GMC, and Dr Kedar's Maternity, Infertility, and Surgical Hospital (Subunit: Goa IVF Centre) in Panaji. Nine women who underwent the IVF treatment at the GMC's super specialty block have successfully delivered to date. The centre has 316 persons registered for ART and has performed 104 IVF procedures on 69 patients to date. The centre has also performed 403 IUI procedures on 172 patients. The cost per IVF case is around Rs 1.37 lakh, health minister Vishwajit Rane said in a written reply in the assembly. This includes Rs 1 lakh for injections for ovarian hyperstimulation, Rs 8,000 for medicines after OPU and embryo transfer, Rs 7,000 for IVF media and Rs 12,000 for IVF consumables. As per the MoU between the GMC's public health department and Dr Kedar's Maternity, Infertility, and Surgical Hospital, Panaji, Goa, Dr Kedarnath Padte and his team of anaesthetists, embryologists and support staff provide their services at the Centre for ART, SSB, GMC. In May, the centre reported the birth of triplets to a mother, the first of its kind at the facility. The mother delivered two baby girls weighing 1.5kg and 1.7kg and a boy weighing 2.3kg. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Web Search For YouTube search Search Now Undo The GMC said the woman underwent a successful Caesarean section despite complex medical challenges. Rane said this is the first such centre in the country offering free IVF treatment to couples who long to start their own families. The free IVF treatment facility was inaugurated in Aug 2023, along with the ART and IUI, which are central to the treatment.
The Hindu
a day ago
- The Hindu
Lack of birth control centres, shortage of vets, leads to spike in dog bites, rabies deaths across south India
Dog bite incidents remain a significant public health issue across southern India, with rabies-related deaths continuing to rise, despite various measures to control the problem. According to the government's response to the Lok Sabha on July 22, 2025, over 37 lakh dog bite cases and 54 suspected rabies deaths were recorded in 2024. The National Centre for Disease Control confirmed 37 lakh dog bite cases and 54 suspected human rabies deaths that year. The government has placed the responsibility for managing the stray dog population on municipalities. In a written reply, Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, S.P. Singh Baghel stated that the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Programme is being implemented across the country to regulate stray dog numbers. However, despite ongoing sterilisation drives and vaccination campaigns, data from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana, and Kerala indicate that the problem is far from resolved. The stray dog population continues to grow, and civic responses have been limited. The toll on human health In Tamil Nadu, for instance, the Directorate of Public Health reported a startling 1.24 lakh dog bite cases and four rabies deaths in just the first three months of 2025. The fatalities from rabies went up from 18 deaths in 2023 to 43 in 2024. By mid-2025, 18 rabies deaths had already been recorded, suggesting another year of high mortality. Despite these grim statistics, the State's sterilisation efforts are struggling to keep pace with the growing population of stray dogs. An official survey in Chennai estimated 1.8 lakh stray dogs in the city in 2024, though the actual number could be much higher. Experts recommend sterilising at least 90% of the dogs in a short period to break the reproductive cycle, but data from the Greater Chennai Corporation shows the number of sterilisations in 2023 was 14,885 and a marginal reduction in 2024, at 14,678. Meanwhile, in Karnataka, 2024 saw 3.6 lakh dog bite cases and 42 rabies deaths. This situation has persisted into 2025, with Bangalore Urban reporting 8,878 dog bites between January and June. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) region, which includes the city's core, recorded 13,831 cases in just six months. Although no rabies deaths were reported in these areas during this period, Bangalore Urban was responsible for 9 of the 19 Statewide rabies fatalities. The situation in the city, particularly in poorer areas, reflects the ongoing challenges in controlling the stray dog population, despite efforts in more affluent neighbourhoods where government agencies are active. In Telangana, Hyderabad has also seen a dramatic increase in dog bite cases, which more than doubled from 10,078 incidents in 2022 to 21,131 in 2024. The situation is dire, with Greater Hyderabad now reporting over 100 dog bites every day. Between 2021 and 2024, the State recorded over 3.3 lakh dog bite cases, with Hyderabad contributing significantly to this total. Local residents have expressed fear about letting their children play outside due to aggressive stray dogs. 'Only because I live in a society that has banned stray dogs can my child play safely within the complex,' said N. Sravani, mother of a five-year-old. In Kerala, the situation is similarly concerning. Dog bite cases have surged from 1.19 lakh in 2014 to around 3.16 lakh in 2024, more than doubling over the past decade. The increase in rabies-related deaths has been just as worrying: 25 deaths in 2023, 26 in 2024, and already 16 deaths in the first five months of 2025. Significantly, some of those who died had received rabies vaccinations, suggesting that in some cases, the virus reached the nervous system too quickly, rendering the vaccine ineffective. In response, the Kerala government has plans to deploy mobile ABC units across all 152 block panchayats, aiming to better control the stray dog population. For many, the fear of stray dogs is a daily reality, which makes even simple activities like taking children for walks or playing outside a daunting task. Challenges in controlling stray dog populations The ability to manage and control the stray dog population is hindered by several significant challenges. A crucial issue is the lack of adequate infrastructure, especially in terms of animal birth control centres, and the shortage of trained veterinary professionals. Shruti Vinod Raj, honorary member of the Tamil Nadu Animal Welfare Board, said that Chennai alone needs 17 ABC centres to handle the growing number of stray dogs. At present, the city has only five, with plans for ten more. The existing centres are not enough to meet the demand, and only a fraction of the necessary sterilisation procedures are being carried out. Moreover, there is a significant shortage of qualified veterinarians to perform these essential procedures, says Ms. Raj. The lack of skilled professionals at these centres further exacerbates the problem. In response to this, the Animal Welfare Board and the Animal Husbandry Department are working to provide targeted training for veterinarians specifically to work at these centres, but this initiative is still in its early stages. Another major challenge comes in the form of bureaucratic red tape, which delays the establishment of new ABC centres. An animal welfare organisation in Hyderabad, which works with the local body for ABC, noted that proposals for setting up new centres may take years to be approved, leaving the stray dog population to proliferate unchecked in the meantime. In many cases, by the time a new centre is operational, the population of strays has grown significantly. Local residents, too, are noticing these gaps in the system. K. Guru, a resident of Bangalore, commented that while some affluent areas are seeing a reduction in stray dog numbers due to active government intervention, the situation in other parts of the city remains grim. 'In affluent neighbourhoods, there seems to be some progress in controlling the stray dog population. However, in other parts of the city, the problem is only worsening,' he said. Experts have called for a more coordinated, widespread response, involving better infrastructure, a larger number of trained veterinarians, and faster decision-making to address the issue comprehensively. Until these challenges are addressed, the rise in dog bite cases and rabies deaths is likely to persist.
