Mumbai Civic Body Plans To Vaccinate 15,000 Stray Dogs During 10-Day Drive

A total of 15,000 stray dogs will be vaccinated in Mumbai during a 10-day drive to make the metropolis rabies free, a civic official said on Friday.

A release from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said 15,000 dogs will be vaccinated in P-North, R-South, R-Central, R-North, S and T wards administrative wards in the northern part of the city between September 29 and October 10.

Around 100 volunteers and 15 NGOs will be engaged for this drive, which will be mobile app based, it said.

"For the first time, app based rabies vaccination will be done in the state. The photo of the vaccinated dog, the place of vaccination and health information will be integrated in the app. After vaccination, the dogs will get QR code collars on an experimental basis," the official said.

Scanning the QR code will help in getting information about the dog, including feeder details, vaccination and medical information, the release said.

As per the BMC, the population of stray dogs in Mumbai is likely to have touched 1.64 lakh, up from 95,000 as per the canine census done in 2014.

The BMC has proposed the next census of stray dogs in January 2024, based on which a large-scale rabies vaccination campaign is proposed in February, the release said.

After the January census, it has been planned to give anti-rabies vaccine to at least 1 lakh dogs in a 10-day period.

"The present vaccination is to assess the actual number of street dogs and to find out the wards where the population may be more and would need intervention," the official said.

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