The State Urban Development minister Madan Kaushik inaugurated an Animal Birth Control (ABC) centre for stray dogs in the lake city Nainital on the weekend. The ABC centre for the stray dog population has been developed the animal welfare board and the Nainital municipal council at a cost of Rs 62 lakh. Addressing the gathering on the occasion, the state urban development minister said that Uttarakhand would soon become a state free of rabies. Stating that tourism was an important activity in Uttarakhand, the minister said that the state will work towards developing various towns while also facilitating basic facilities for tourists. Kaushik said that there are about 92 urban local bodies across the state and the state government will provide funds to these urban local bodies on a priority basis to facilitate the opening of ABC centres in the areas under their purview. Stating that resources of urban local bodies will have to be enhanced to make them independent, the minister said that the government provides a reward of Rs 10 lakh each to three municipal councils and three Nagar Panchayats for good works. Considering this too, all the local bodies should strive to executive good works effectively, said the minister. The municipal council head Shyam Narayan said that after Dehradun, an ABC centre for stray dogs had been opened in Nainital. The opening of this centre will help bring the rising population of stray dogs under control, which will also provide much relief to the public, he said.
State animal welfare board nodal officer Dr Ashutosh Joshi said that in the second stage, ABC centres for sterilisation of stray dogs will also be opened in the near future in towns including Haldwani, Rudrapur, Kashipur, Roorkee and Haridwar.
Animal welfare board coopted member Gauri Maulekhi said that the ABC centre in Nainital was an example of how a perfect ABC centre should be like. In the next three months, all the stray dogs of Nainital will be sterilised. Following this, the neighbouring local bodies of Bhawali and Bhimtal will also be covered from the centre this year. In stead of being an initiative of individual local bodies, ABC in Uttarakhand is a state government initiative, she added.