The Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) is all set to launch a drive to manage stray dogs in all the 35 wards of the city.

The metropolis had in early March started a vaccination and sterilisation campaign to manage street dogs inside Singha Durbar with the support from the Humane Society International (HIS) and the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI).

According to Hari Kumar Shrestha, chief of Public Health Division at KMC, of the total 120 dogs, the metropolis had sterilised 80 male and female dogs inside the Singha Durbar as part of the campaign. KMC officials said the metropolis would soon set up an office in Teku. “After setting up the treatment office this month, we will launch the drive to manage stray canines of the city,” said Shrestha.

A total of 15 staffers and two vans will be mobilised for the drive, according to the KMC. “We are all set to expand this drive to all the wards, as public health and sanitation are also our major area of concern,” said Shrestha.

The metropolis has divided the city into eight regions to carry out its stray dog management programme, which the KMC has termed “Manumitra” or “man’s friend”. KMC Chief and Executive Rudra Singh Tamang said the metropolis has been holding meetings with ward citizen forums, local health professionals, political leaders, clubs and organisations to make the campaign a success.

Officials say it will take around three years to manage all the street dogs in the metropolis. According to estimates, there are around 22,000 street dogs in the 35 wards of Kathmandu. According to a report of the Department of Health Services, nearly 2,000 people are bitten by stray dogs in Kathmandu. Across Nepal, around 40,000 people approach health facilities for anti-rabies vaccine each year with more than 96 percent cases of dog bites.