After SC order, BMC plans stray sterilisation, sets up feed zones
Times of India | 22 January 2026
Kolkata: Following Supreme Court directives, the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has planned to appoint an agency for the systematic capture, sterilization, and treatment of sick or injured stray dogs, and thereafter release them at the pick-up points. The civic body is also setting up designating feeding zones for strays across Salt Lake and Rajarhat-Gopalpur.
"Following a recent SC directive, the BMC commissioner received instructions from the state govt to provide information on where stray dog feeding mostly takes place. Several places have been identified, and initially six such spots have been chosen as feeding zones," said BMC MMiC (health) Banibrata Banerjee.
Officials said that the agency that will be selected will be responsible for the sterilization of stray dogs. "The agency that will be appointed for the job will administer anti-rabies vaccination (ARV) to each dog at the time of sterilization. The strays, once captured for sterilization, will be transported from and released in the same locality, and post-operative care will be provided as per prescribed norms," said a civic official. The agency will also need to keep a maintenance book of records for each sterilized and vaccinated dog.
Some of the spots that have been designated as dog feeding zones are at Salt Lake FC Block, beside Sourav Abason and Bijan Bhavan, among others. The notice boards mention the spot as a designated dog feeding place, with timings specified from 5 am to 7 am and again from 7 pm to 9 pm.
It was in Aug last year that the Calcutta High Court called for a report from the state plea on a PIL, seeking sterilization and vaccination of stray dogs, as well as measures to curb the increasing attacks on children, the elderly, and sanitation workers. In a recent apex court directive, the municipal authorities have been directed to remove stray dogs found in localities and to sterilize and vaccinate them. The court directed compliance with the ABC Rules, 2023 for the capture, sterilization, and vaccination of stray dogs.