New Delhi, India’s capital, is gearing up for the upcoming G20 summit by implementing a plan to capture, sterilize, and conceal thousands of stray dogs that roam its streets. The city’s municipal government intends to use nets to trap these canines from various locations, including upscale boutique hotels and iconic landmarks like the 17th-century Red Fort, a popular tourist hotspot.
In preparation for the summit, city authorities have directed employees to start rounding up the stray dogs and transporting them to local animal sterilization centers. The order specifies that the captured dogs will be cared for and fed until the G20 summit concludes. The metropolitan area of Delhi, home to approximately 30 million people, has been undergoing extensive beautification efforts ever since India took over the G20 presidency the previous year.
As part of the beautification drive, authorities have been clearing illegal slums near summit venues and revamping major roads to accommodate the arrival of world leaders from top economies in September.
According to the Livestock Census of 2012, the most recent available government data, more than 60,000 stray dogs inhabit Delhi’s streets. Local authorities have previously conducted sterilization campaigns to control the canine population, but packs of dogs still persist in parks and residential neighborhoods throughout the city.
Critics, like Mohmmad Irfan, a shopkeeper near the city’s Jama Masjid mosque, express doubt about the effectiveness of the sterilization efforts, stating that it does not provide a permanent solution to the stray dog issue.
Despite ongoing efforts, the challenge of managing the stray dog population remains, and it remains to be seen how the city’s actions will impact the stray dog situation in the long run, especially in the lead-up to the G20 summit.
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