A day after drawing up an action plan for the vaccination of stray dogs, including setting up of dog shelters in panchayats and at block-level, a meeting chaired by Minister for Local Self-Governments M.B. Rajesh has constituted a four-member committee consisting of district panchayat president, District Collector, joint director of Animal Welfare department and panchayat deputy director to coordinate the activities to address the menace.
The committee has been directed to review the activities once in a week.
Addressing a press meeting here on Tuesday after the meeting of district panchayat heads and District Collectors on the issue, Mr. Rajesh said each local body should submit a report on a daily basis on the issues of stray dogs, including preventive measures taken, progress of vaccination and number of ABC centres set up.
An emergency meeting of hoteliers, meat traders, and people’s representatives will be convened to strictly prohibit dumping of garbage on the streets which attracts dogs. It will also be ensured that all decisions are strictly implemented. The meeting decided to remove all waste littered on the streets through Clean Kerala Company.
Revenue Minister K. Rajan, who took part in the briefing, said a meeting would be convened at the constituency-level in a week with the participation of MLAs to address the issue. A letter had already been sent to all MLAs in this regard, Mr. Rajan said.
The Health department had also prepared a list of hotspots of stray dogs in the State, based on the dog bite cases reported recently, and vaccination steps would be implemented with emphasis on hotspots, Mr. Rajan said.
The Ministers also stressed the need for public participation in effectively addressing the menace in a way the State handled the flood and COVID-19 situations. It is expected that the State has over three-lakh stray dogs.
