The Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) will set up 5 dog shelters in the city for stray dogs caught from public and institutional premises such as schools, colleges, hospitals, malls, and bus stands. The civic body's veterinary department has prepared a proposal for this initiative.
It has been suggested to set up these centres on open municipal plots in Talawade, Punawale, Mohannagar in Chinchwad, as well as Shahunagar and Sadgurunagar in Bhosari. The proposal has been forwarded to the Land and Estate Department for further action. Each centre will have the capacity to house around 1,000 dogs, along with separate arrangements for aggressive or potentially dangerous dogs.
The Supreme Court has directed that dogs caught from public premises should be sterilised and vaccinated, moved to designated shelter centres, and not released back to the same location. Officials stated that preparations are underway in accordance with these directives.
Currently, the civic body operates a centre with a capacity of about 216 dogs at Nehrunagar in Pimpri. Primarily used for sterilisation and vaccination, the facility cannot permanently house a large number of dogs, prompting the veterinary department to highlight the need for separate shelter centres.
"As per the court's directives, arrangements will be made for sterilisation, vaccination, and housing dogs in shelter centres wherever necessary," said PCMC Chief Veterinary Officer Dr Arun Dagade.
