GVMC Pushes Stray Dog Sterilisation to 100 Surgeries a Day

Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation Commissioner Ketan Garg has directed officials to ramp up stray dog sterilisation operations to 100 surgeries per day across the city to strengthen control over the stray population.

During an inspection of the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Centre at Arilova on Thursday, the Commissioner reviewed the facility’s kennels, operating theatre, and ongoing infrastructure works, and also observed live sterilisation procedures through CCTV, along with Chief Medical Officer Dr. E.N.V. Naresh Kumar and City Veterinary Officer Dr. Kiran Kumar.

Officials informed him that around 65–70 sterilisation surgeries are currently being conducted daily across four ABC centres at Anakapalli, Arilova, Narava, and Kapuluppada. To achieve the revised target, Mr. Garg instructed officials to prepare expansion proposals and carry out inspections, particularly at the Arilova and Narava centres. He also ordered the integration of CCTV surveillance from all ABC centres with the GVMC City Operations Centre for real-time monitoring.

Explaining the standard operating procedure, Dr. Kiran Kumar said captured stray dogs are kept under observation for a day before sterilisation, followed by ear notching for identification. Post-surgery, the animals are kept for recovery for three to four days, provided food and anti-rabies vaccination, and then released at the same location they were picked up from, in line with animal welfare norms.

On stray cattle issues, the Commissioner directed enforcement teams to impound roaming livestock causing traffic hazards. He said the animals should be housed in proper shelters and released only after imposing penalties as per municipal regulations.

He further directed officials to identify land for dedicated cattle shelters and suggested exploring collaboration with Jain community organisations interested in supporting animal welfare initiatives through CSR programmes.