Guntur civic body intensifies stray dog population control measures

The Guntur Municipal Corporation (GMC) has intensified efforts to control the rising stray dog population. GMC Commissioner K. Mayur Ashok on Monday (March 23, 2026) directed officials to expedite Animal Birth Control (ABC) surgeries across the city.

The Commissioner told The Hindu that he instructed veterinary teams and agency representatives to scale up operations and submit daily reports. Officials estimate that nearly 30,000 stray dogs required sterilisation, and the current capacity of 50–60 surgeries per day is being enhanced to 100 with improved infrastructure.

The civic body has launched a focused drive in sensitive areas. A new ABC centre on Ponnur Road has been made operational, with works entrusted to a private agency.

He said sterilisation and anti-rabies vaccination will be carried out, after which the dogs will be released back into their original locations as per Supreme Court guidelines.

He also informed that, the GMC didn’t have the exact number of the dogs in the city, as their population keeps on increasing. Hence, they depend on the earlier census, which projects the dogs population around 28,000.

He further informed that the GMC has been planning to establish dogs feeding places at every ward in the city. The public will be asked to feed the dogs at these designated places only.