Around 100 stray dogs caught from Games Village, other venues

NEW DELHI - Around 100 stray dogs have been rounded up from the Commonwealth Games Village and other Games venues by the capital’s civic authority in coordination with an NGO, an official said Friday.

The stray dogs were having a free run of the Village and other areas, raising concerns among participating countries. They were rounded up by the the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and Friendicoes SECA (Society for the Eradication of Cruelty to Animals) and temporarily relocated to a dog sterilization centre at Ghazipur. Similar drives are being carried out in all the 17 Games venues.

Gautam Barat, co-founder Friendicoes, which has volunteered for the cause with MCD, told IANS: “The rounded up stray dogs will be released in the same venue after the Games are over. Till then they will be kept in the Ghazipur sterilization centre.”

Following complaints that dogs were straying into the Games Village complex, the drive was carried out by the civic body’s veterinary department since Thursday. Two ambulances with six dog catchers are going around the venue to round up the dogs.

“The task was voluntarily taken up by Friendicoes. As an animal welfare organisation, we want to ensure that captured dogs are not harmed in the name of the Games. They will be maintained in a proper manner till the Games are over,” Barat added.

Once taken to the Ghazipur sterilization centre, each dog will be given a token with details of the area from where it was picked up. This will help the civic authorities to later release the canines at their previous locations.

According to MCD sources, there are over 280,000 stray dogs in Delhi. The national capital reports some 15-20 dog bites every day, the sources added.