Solapur to build Rs 10-crore shelter for 1,000 stray dogs at Degaon

Solapur Municipal Corporation is preparing a major response to the growing stray dog problem in the city and the slow pace of sterilisation. The corporation's standing committee has approved setting aside an additional Rs 7.20 crore in the 2026-27 budget for sterilisation and building shelters.

The standing committee met on Monday, November 2, under chairperson Ranjita Chakote. Five items related to civic amenities in the city were cleared. The most important was the additional money for sterilising stray dogs and building a shelter. The committee approved making the provision in the revised budget by reallocating existing funds, subject to availability. The shelter proposal will now go to the general body for final approval.

Under the plan, a shelter with a capacity of 1,000 dogs will be built on 4.5 acres opposite the STP plant at Degaon. The project cost, including GST, has been put at Rs 9,99,96,638. The plan is to build 100 cages, each holding 10 dogs, so 1,000 dogs can be housed at a time. The emphasis will be on setting up facilities for sterilisation, surgery and upkeep of the dogs.

The city is estimated to have about 35,000 stray dogs. Faster sterilisation is necessary to control them, but only about 18 dogs a day are being operated on at present. Controlling the dog population with such low capacity is a major challenge for the corporation.

According to the shelter's project report, the cost breakdown is: dog shelter (capacity 1,000 dogs) Rs 3.12 crore, ABC centre Rs 2.50 lakh, operation theatre Rs 56.51 lakh, development works Rs 1.21 crore, electrical works Rs 61 lakh and fire system Rs 20 lakh.

The shortage of staff is also evident. The corporation's department concerned with stray dog management has about eight employees at present, including two doctors and four helpers. The sanctioned strength requires about 60. Building a shelter alone will therefore not solve the problem; enough doctors, staff and other arrangements will also have to be provided to increase the number of sterilisation operations.

The meeting also took note of other works. In the work order for supplying feed for animals at the Mahatma Gandhi Zoo, rates have been fixed for M/s Unnati Construction at Rs 240 per kg for chicken, Rs 230 per kg for buffalo-category beef and Rs 5 per egg.

Approval was given to award the annual contract for maintenance and repair of water supply under Zonal Offices No. 1 to 8 and the main office to four contractors. A tender process worth about Rs 4 crore has been run for repair of DI and MS pipelines, special repairs, and the supply and fitting of sluice valves.

The committee also took note of the work order for concreting the paths of the Jannatul Firdous burial ground in Ward No. 22. For timely completion of daily maintenance and minor repairs under Zonal Office No. 6, approval was given to issue a work order to Shrikant Sidram Bhole as contractor at the approved tender rate.

A large sum has been set aside for stray dogs, while the staff shortage persists. Solapur residents are now watching to see when the shelter actually comes up, when sterilisation picks up pace and when they get relief from the problem.