A Shillong Municipal Board (SMB) shelter to house street dogs will be completed in the next 30 days, the High Court of Meghalaya was told during a public interest litigation (PIL) case hearing today.
A division bench of the High Court consisting of Chief Justice Indra Prasanna Mukerji and Justice Wanlura Diengdoh was hearing a PIL filed by Kaustav Paul for relocation of the zoo at Phan Nonglait Park (Lady Hydari Park) in Shillong and for measures to deal with street dogs in public places.
The SMB invited a tender for the construction of a dog shelter after the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department stated that, though it had a shelter for dogs, this facility is geared towards a birth control programme. Therefore the SMB decided to construct its own shelter home, which the High Court described as “very heartening”.
The court directed the SMB to ensure that, as far as possible, this construction is completed within the above stipulated time and the street dogs are provided shelter there.
The court also directed that the state government through the Secretary of the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department is to verify the authenticity of the Director’s statement that shelter for street dogs cannot be provided at the shelter of the department. If it turns out that it is possible to keep dogs captured by the SMB there, then the department was directed to cooperate until the SMB shelter is completed.
Meanwhile, on the relocation of the zoo, the court expressed satisfaction with the steps taken by the government for shifting it to a location around 35km from the city near Umiam. Only the zoo’s birds could not be moved yet but will likely be able to be relocated once a new enclosure is constructed there.
