India’s capital will catch, sterilise and hide thousands of stray dogs roaming its streets as part of a campaign to clean up the megacity before it hosts next month’s G20 summit.
New Delhi’s municipal government plans to use nets to trap the canines from dozens of locations including around boutique hotels and some of the city’s most impressive monuments and tourist hotspots, such as the 17th century Red Fort.
On Thursday authorities directed city employees to begin rounding up dogs for transport to local animal sterilisation centres “due to the G20 summit”.
“All stray dogs picked up from these locations shall be kept… for their further care and feeding till the programme is over,” the order said.
The Delhi metropolitan area, home to around 30 million people, has been on an intense beautification drive since India assumed the G20 presidency last year.
Authorities have cleared illegal slums near summit venues and revamped major arterial routes on the city’s gridlocked roads ahead of September’s summit, which will host leaders of the world’s top economies.
More than 60,000 stray dogs live on Delhi’s streets according to India’s Livestock Census of 2012, the most recent available government figures.
Sterilisation campaigns have been regularly employed by local authorities to keep the canine population in check, though dog packs remain present in parks and residential neighbourhoods around the city.
