To feed stray animals during coronavirus lockdown, the Odisha government has sanctioned Rs. 60 lakh from Chief Minister Relief Fund. The money has been allocated to five municipal corporations, 48 municipalities and 61 Notified Area Councils (NACs).
Last week, the Department of Housing and Urban Development asked the civic bodies to make provisions to feed stray animals in urban and semi-urban areas. The amount was sanctioned by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday.
The state government decided to make arrangements after considering that once the lockdown was implemented, the locals will be unable to feed stray animals.
Animals such as stray dogs and cattle are facing a serious food shortage amid lockdown. The animals will be fed by volunteers and voluntary organisations.
The Odisha government has sanctioned Rs. 60 lakh from Chief Minister Relief Fund to feed stray animals during the coronavirus lockdown | Image: PTI
The government has fixed the unit cost per day for all municipal corporations, municipalities, and all NAC areas to meet the expenses of the work.
The amount will allow Bhubneshwar, Cuttack, Sambalpur, Rourkela and Brahmapur metropolitan corporations to spend Rs 20,000 a day, the municipalities have been permitted to spend Rs 5,000 a day, and NACs have been allocated Rs 2,000 a day to feed the stray animals.
The state has taken serious measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. It has decided to give priority to vaccination of 18 to 44 age group people in five municipal corporations where the infection rate is relatively high.
The decision of the Odisha government to feed stray animals during lockdown has been praised by the people. More such initiatives are a must to take care of stray animals.
Via: Hindustan Times