Pune:Â PMC Begins Citywide Anti-Rabies Drive To Vaccinate Stray Dogs
Pune:Â PMC Begins Citywide Anti-Rabies Drive To Vaccinate Stray Dogs
Pune: The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) on Friday launched a citywide anti-rabies vaccination campaign targeting stray and community dogs across all 15 wards. The initiative aims to control rabies transmission and raise public awareness about the disease.
Inaugurated by municipal commissioner and administrator Naval Kishore Ram, the drive is part of the National Action Plan for the Elimination of Dog-Mediated Rabies, spearheaded by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) under the Union health ministry, with a goal to eliminate rabies from India by 2030.
PMC has partnered with the Universal Animal Welfare Society, an NGO, to execute the vaccination programme. Ten teams have been deployed to carry out the campaign, with a daily target of 350 canines and a yearly goal of immunising over 1.09 lakh stray dogs.
Civic data shows the stray dog population in Pune has declined from 3.15 lakh in 2018 to 1.79 lakh in 2023. Officials emphasised that sustained vaccination and sterilisation efforts are critical to managing the stray population and preventing rabies outbreaks.
Senior PMC officials, including additional municipal commissioners MJ Pradeep Chandran and Omprakash Divate, joint commissioner of animal husbandry Dr Sheetalkumar Mukane, and health chief Dr Nina Borade, were present at the launch event.
