ISLAMABAD: The growing population of stray dogs in the capital has been posing troubles for citizens as dog bite cases are increasing, but the authorities concerned have failed to run the Stray Dogs Population Control Centre (SDPCC) in a proper way.

This failure attracted the attention of Federal Ombudsman Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi, who took notice and directed the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) to take urgent remedial measures in view of the public suffering.

On the direction of Islamabad High Court and Wafagi Mohtasib (Federal Ombudsman), the civic agency in 2022 had set up Stray Dogs Population Control Centre in Tarlia area to control the population of stray dogs through the `trap, neuter, vaccinate and release` (TNVR) method.

The centre was supposed to neuter and release at least 800 dogs per month. Initially, this centre performed well for some months, as surgeries were conducted followed by the release of the dogs.

Later on, sources said that when the contract was ended last year, the performance of the centrenosedived, as the process of TNVR was stopped; therefore, the population of stray dogs witnessed an increase in Islamabad.

Currently, there are reports that the centre is serving like an `incarceration centre` for stray dogs, as staff of the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI), after catching dogs, put them in this centre, allegedly `till death`.

Whereas there is no system in place for vaccination and food for `arrested` dogs, yet dogs are surviving based on waste food and scraps provided by hotel owners.

There was also a dedicated helpline 1819 for registration of complaints against the presence of stray dogs, which is now out of order.

When contacted, a couple of officials of the Directorate of Municipal Administration (DMA) of MCI denied that the facility is serving as an incarceration centre, claiming that dogs, after being kept in SDPCC for some days, are relocated to far-flung areas.

`We have special arrangements with hotels, which provide us with free food for these dogs. All dogs are being properly taken care of, an official of DMA said, claiming that doctors and staff of ICT wildlife department helping DMA for better care and treatment of these dogs as well. `We regularly and daily catch stray dogs,` he said.

`The problem of stray dogs is increasingly becoming acute due to negligence on the part of themunicipal authorities in Islamabad and is causing serious hardship to senior citizens, women and children.

`However, sufficient attention is not being paid to this critical area. According to reports, a large number of people, including children and the elderly, are bitten by the stray dogs,` read a statement issued by the Ombudsman`s office.

It said that in view of the magnitude of this problem, the Wafagi Mohtasib Office had commissioned a professional study, which revealed that the policy of the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board has not been implemented in letter and spirit.

`Besides suggesting practical measures, the study also shed light on ways and means adopted by other countries of the region for tackling the issue. In this regard, Wafagi Mohtasib had also constituted a high-level committee tasked to hold meetings with the authorities concerned for recommending measures to tackle this menace,` it said and added.

`Resultantly, a dog centre was established at Tarlai under the name of SDPCC. The project, however, failed to deliver, and the problem remained,` read the press release.

Before the centre was established, the CDA and the MCI used toshootdogsto controltheirpopulation, but the high court ordered the authorities to stop this cruelty and directed them to set up a dog centre.