MARGAO: A group of frustrated Margao citizens have threatened to leave newborn stray puppies at the doorstep of the Municipal Council for the city fathers to foster, in a bid to spur the civic body into releasing the funds required for the animal birth control (ABC) programme and to support the dog shelter.
Convenor for the Shadow Council for Margao (SCM) and former MMC Chairperson Savio Coutinho slammed the Council for failing to settle its dues with the NGO running the dog shelter at Sonsoddo, for nearly three years, since January 2021. “Despite this, when there are issues with strays in Margao, the councillors have the audacity to provide the NGO’s contact number. It is a disgraceful situation,” he said.
Criticising the MMC for deliberately neglecting the issue of the stray animal population, thereby endangering citizens, the SCM and animal-rights activists have given the council leaders
a 15-day ultimatum to resolve the issue, failing which a public call would go out to deliver abandoned puppies at the Council building in Margao.Coutinho lamented that there have been numerous incidents of small children being attacked by packs of dogs, but the Council remains indifferent to the situation.
Presenting the agenda copy of the MMC meeting scheduled for June 23 and copies of several meetings since December 2022, Coutinho accused the Council of deceiving the shelter’s managing NGO by falsely claiming that the matter would be discussed at the June 23 meeting. He further revealed that proposals referred to the Council are often excluded from the meeting agendas.
“If necessary, we will take legal action in support of the animal birth control programme,” Coutinho warned.
Animal lovers Neville Marchon and Rati Pai Angle said that they were personally supporting the shelter by providing rice, medicines, and monetary contributions. However, they emphasized that it cannot be expected to be a regular occurrence, especially since the government has allotted funds for this very purpose.
Animal lovers across Margao use their own vehicles to transport sick and wounded strays to the shelter, as the MMC vehicle allotted for the purpose has been out of commission since December, when its engine seized.
Sandra Fernandes, the manager of the shelter, said that the amounts that the Council has fixed don’t suffice even to pay the salaries of the dog catchers, driver and the veterinarians.
“Besides these payments, we have to take care of diesel costs, rent, etc. We literally beg, borrow and have even taken loans to sustain the activities at the shelter, but we are treated like untouchables when we visit the Council to follow up with our applications,” said a dejected Fernandes.
