After paying lip service to menace of stray animals in city, the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation has finally decided to sterilise dogs and to inject them with anti-rabies vaccine. The project, which has been named, catch neuter vaccinate release (CNVR), will start from February 1 and is estimated to cost Rs 1.84 crore. Fifty per cent of cost will be funded by the Department of Animal Husbandry through a Centre-sponsored scheme.

The MC authorities have also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Animal Help Foundation (AHF) in Ahmedabad and the Animal Welfare Board of India, Chennai.

Though AHF will conduct a fresh census of the stray dog population in the city to find the exact amount of money required for the project, a rough estimate prepared by the MC says Ludhiana has nearly 23,000 stray dogs at the moment.

At a cost of Rs 800 per dog, the NGO aims to sterilise nearly 12,000 dogs in a year and the entire project will be completed in three years.

Senior Deputy Mayor Parveen Bansal, the man behind the project, says: “The actual effect will be visible after four years. Thus, the people should not expect magic results so soon.”

According to the MoU, AHF will provide all necessary equipment, medicines at their own cost and the reports will be submitted at the end of every month to the LMC. All neutered dogs will be marked with a ‘V’ sign near the ear, an indication that it has been neutered.