AASRA NGO Flags Severe Neglect in GHMC ABC Centres; Officials Deny Violations

Hyderabad: The city-based NGO AASRA, permitted by the Telangana High Court to inspect the GHMC’s animal birth control (ABC) centres, has reported pathetic conditions during its visits. The NGO had been granted permission to visit two centres and was later cleared to inspect two more. Their third petition is waiting for hearing in the High Court.

Following the Supreme Court’s orders to shift dogs from public institutions to animal shelters, vaccinate and sterilise them, activists alleged that overcrowding in the shelters might cause harm to animals.

Gowri Vandhana, president and founder of AASRA Foundation, said their fight was to ensure that street dogs and humans co-existed safely and humanely. “The ABC centres meant for sterilisation are holding nearly 1,000 dogs. It feels like a prison. Every dog is emotionally distressed. At a centre in Nagole, a dog had died, and we had to alert the staff. While infrastructure exists, the animals need open spaces and proper food,” she said.

Animal welfare representative Hanumanth Rao, who frequently visited the centres, said the facilities lack essential vaccinations. “If dogs are kept permanently, they must receive the 7-in-1 vaccine. Without it, a single infection like canine distemper virus (CDV) can spread rapidly and kill many dogs,” he warned.

Rao added that GHMC had failed to maintain transparency and proper record-keeping. “There are no designated nodal officers. Educational institutions from where dogs are being brought are not listed. They are mixing sick, sterilised and unsterilised dogs together — five to six dogs in one enclosure—which violates the SOPs of the Animal Welfare Board of India,” he said.

He added that dogs live in trauma, with some being fed turmeric mixed in plain rice, and centres lacking 24/7 monitoring, open walking areas and storage facilities.

A veterinary department official from GHMC denied allegations of neglect. He said that across India, anti-rabies vaccination was the only mandated requirement for street dogs in ABC centres.

“We were recently appreciated by the Centre for achieving 85 per cent sterilisation. We have also introduced free registration for volunteers willing to adopt dogs. Zonal commissioners have been directed to identify land for new animal shelters, and nodal officers have been appointed. Everything is being done as per Supreme Court rules, the official stated and added that videos circulating on social media were old ones