Animal census to start in September

Stray dogs have become a menace and are creating problems for the city’s residents with a large number of dog bite cases being reported from different sectors. There have been instances when a single dog has bitten a number of residents. The terror created by these dogs has often been discussed but no solution found. Authorities are not even sure of the number of dogs with different estimates being made. The census will also inform authorities about the extent of the success of the sterilisation programme.

Dr Lovlesh Kant Gupta,Joint Director-cum-Veterinary Officer,Government Veterinary Hospital,Sector 22 says that the department is making preparations for the census. “The process of selection of enumerators is going on. While earlier,the staff of government offices was deployed for the purpose,now unemployed youth are being hired. We have selected 120 enumerators till now. The people being interviewed are those registered in the employment exchange,” says Gupta.

He adds that dogs are territorial animals,so they do not stray much from the area where they stay. The enumerators will be allotted specific areas to do the counting. For the cattle,the owners will know the number of livestock that they have kept. The report of the census will be ready by October.