PUNE: A dog
park project for strays, first proposed in 2008, revived in 2012, and put in
cold storage since then, may see the light of the day now.
The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has decided to integrate
a veterinary hospital dedicated to dogs and the park on an amenity space near
Mundhwa. Permission has been sought from the state government to allow the
change of use of the land. It will have facilities like a shelter, sanitation,
sterilization, vaccination and isolation wards under one roof.
Civic officials said the space has been picked on the basis
that one dog requires minimum 30 sqft to a maximum of 40 sqft. According to
PMC’s data, the city has nearly 80,000 stray dogs. “The land is reserved for
cattle sheds. Some of it will be used for that purpose. Around six acres will
be used for the dog park. So a proposal for the change of land use has to be
submitted. After its clearance, the actual work will start,” Ramchandra
Hankare, head of PMC’s health department, said.
The decision on how to run the centre will be taken after the
approval. The civic body may run the project on its own or employ a contractor.
An estimate of Rs 25 crore has been approved for the project. The civic body
will spend around Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 per annum for each dog. Civic
officials said the dog park will be coordinated by the stray dog control unit
which operates under the health department.
Complaints about stray dogs are addressed by the four zonal medical offices. A dog catching van and an NGO work with each zonal office. After stray dogs are caught, they are sterilized, immunized and released in the same area. “Currently, a dog pound near Naidu Hospital handles these responsibilities. All of them will be shifted to the new veterinary hospital and dog park once it is set up. More advanced equipment and facilities will be made available there,” a senior civic official said.
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