PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
The Municipal Corporation of Dehradun (MCD) has moved ahead with its plan to procure an animal ambulance, with ONGC Dehradun agreeing to provide funding under its corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative. The senior municipal veterinary officer Dr Varun Aggarwal said that the proposal is currently under process and the file is expected to be signed by Dehradun mayor Saurabh Thapliyal on Wednesday. The Mayor is also expected to meet ONGC officials regarding the funding after the file is cleared.
The ambulance is being planned to strengthen the civic body’s response to cases involving injured or distressed animals. The MCD had earlier said that it would seek CSR support and contributions from MLAs and other institutions for the vehicle.
Meanwhile, the proposed RFID tagging of stray dogs is yet to begin. No stray dog has been tagged so far, according to officials. The MCD had earlier planned to introduce RFID tagging along with its Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme.
The new ABC tender has also not been finalised yet. The corporation had planned to include RFID tagging in the new tender so that identification of dogs could be linked with their sterilisation and vaccination records.
The MCD had sterilised and vaccinated 1,211 stray dogs between April 1 and August 31, according to its earlier data.
