BMC to begin citywide dog census from September 17 amid rising canine menace in Bhubaneswar

The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) will conduct a comprehensive dog census across the city starting September 17 amid the street dog menace. According to BMC officials, the enumeration exercise will continue for eight days till September 24 and cover all 67 wards under the civic body’s jurisdiction. 

As many as 420 teams comprising Swachh Sathis, sanitation workers, and BMC officials will be engaged for the task, sources said, adding that, to ensure accuracy, all participants will undergo three-day special training sessions before the census begins. 

The exercise will be carried out in the early morning hours, between 5 am and 7 am, when street dogs are more visible in localities. As many as 85,000 stray dogs are in Bhubaneswar. 

The first phase of the census will begin on September 17 and continue till September 20. Similarly, the second phase of the headcount will start from September 21 and continue till September 24.

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The census teams will visit every street and lane in the city to record the canine population. The data collected is expected to help the civic authorities in better planning of animal birth control, vaccination drives, and street dog management.