Management of strays affecting Swachh Bharat Mission: Survey

New Delhi, Aug 29 (IANS) Over 90 percent people in some of the major cities of the country feel that stray animals are not being managed well thereby causing problems, said a survey.

Those surveyed stressed the need for local municipalities to take steps to remove all stray canines and cattle from the roads.

They were also of the view that poor stray animal management was hampering the success of the Swachh Bharat Mission.

Citizen engagement platform Local Circles surveyed some 16,000 people across 53 major cities in the country in this regard.

The survey said that sterilisation campaigns should be done so that stray animal population does not increase, and a fine should be imposed on people who leave their cattle on the roads.

Conducted in major cities like Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Bengaluru, the survey concludes that more animal shelters should be built in every district and the municipalities should tie up with NGOs to train stray animals.

The survey also said that some people have a "misplaced sense of charitable attitude" towards animals -- this should be changed through education and awareness.

Suggesting that there should be a municipal helpline to report dangerous stray animals, the survey added that NGOs should be involved in working towards adoption of stay animals.

The survey also states that people who feed stray dogs and monkeys should be fined and animals like goats, sheep, buffaloes and cows must be registered and have mandatory ownership tags fitted.