Stray dogs found roaming a street in Tiruchi.
| Photo Credit: M. MOORTHY
Tiruchi Corporation has taken steps to establish dedicated shelters for sterilised stray dogs, with work under way to revise the design of the facilities to increase their capacity.
As per the Supreme Court’s directive, stray dogs roaming public locations, including 227 government offices and educational institutions, 63 government hospitals, 208 private hospitals, three bus stands, and five railway stations, are to be removed from those premises. After sterilisation, the dogs will be sheltered and provided with necessary food and care at the proposed safe shelters.
A city-wide survey has estimated the stray dog population within the city limits at 43,767. Of these, over 30,000 dogs had been sterilised while around 35,000 had been administered anti-rabies vaccinations.
A tender for the construction of shelters was floated last month and suitable contractors had been identified for the project. The facilities would be built near the existing Animal Birth Control (ABC) centres at Ambedkar Nagar in Ward 4 of Zone 1, J.K. Nagar in Ward 46 of Zone 3, and Konakkarai in Ward 11 of Zone 5, as well as near the dump yard in the Ariyamangalam zone. A sum of ₹30 lakh had been allocated for each shelter.
Earlier, the civic body had prepared a model layout for the shelters to accommodate about 50 stray dogs. However, the Animal Welfare Board had suggested changes to the design to increase capacity to 100 dogs. Work on revising the layout is under way and construction will commence once the design was finalised, a senior official said.
Each facility will feature kennels, feeding areas, a kitchen, and basic medical infrastructure for first aid, vaccination, surgery, and post-operative care. The shelters will have compounds to ensure the safety of animals. The initiative aims at addressing the concerns over public safety while ensuring the welfare of animals in accordance with legal guidelines.
Officials said that non-governmental organisations had expressed interest in maintaining the shelters. Each shelter would be operated by an NGO, which would appoint a veterinarian to care for sick animals.
Published – January 22, 2026 06:34 pm IST
