The Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation is preparing to open a new stray dog sterilisation centre after rising complaints about attacks and dog-bite incidents across the city, with a target of treating and sterilising more than 1,000 dogs every month, according to a report by Loksatta.
The tender process for the proposed centre has reached its final stage, and the civic body is expected to make the facility operational soon. The initiative is intended to increase the pace of sterilisation and bring down the growing stray dog population in public places, along major roads and in residential areas.
The reported move comes amid mounting concern over citizen safety in Vasai-Virar. Loksatta reported that several incidents involving attacks on children and residents have been recorded in recent years. The report also stated that more than 30,000 citizens have been registered as dog-bite victims so far this year.
The municipal corporation had previously started sterilisation centres at Navghar and Kashid-Kopar to control the stray dog population. However, the centre at Kopar is currently closed, leaving the Navghar facility as the only functioning centre serving the wider city, the report said.
With one centre carrying the operational burden for the entire municipal area, the pace of sterilisation has slowed. The capacity constraint has become more significant as the number of stray dogs continues to rise, according to the report. The proposed facility is therefore being positioned as an expansion of the corporation’s existing response rather than a wholly new intervention.
The issue has also been raised by elected representatives in the municipal general body. They questioned how the corporation could control the problem when the city’s existing facilities were insufficient to meet the need. The closure of the Kopar centre has left the civic administration with reduced treatment and surgical capacity at a time when complaints about stray dogs remain high.
Sterilisation programmes require a functioning chain of civic services, including animal capture, treatment, surgery and post-operative care. In Vasai-Virar, the current capacity gap has meant that the performance of the municipal response depends heavily on the single operating facility at Navghar. The new centre’s proposed monthly target would substantially increase the corporation’s stated capacity if it is achieved after operations begin.
The report did not provide the proposed centre’s exact location, contract value, operating contractor or launch date. It also did not state how the corporation plans to restore the closed Kopar facility or how the reported dog-bite figures were compiled. These details will be important for assessing whether the new centre can deliver the intended scale of sterilisation.
The immediate next step is the completion of the tender process, followed by the operational launch of the new centre. The municipal corporation’s stated target is to treat and sterilise more than 1,000 stray dogs each month once the facility becomes functional.