Repair of Pettah facility not part of ABC Project

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Government Veterinary Hospital, Pettah – where Thiruvananthapuram Corporation’s ABC procedures are conducted – has been in need of a repair for a long time, but strangely the work has not even been included in its R-ABC project. Instead, the corporation will be using a major proportion of its '3 crore ABC fund for building an ABC facility at Thiruvallam. The kennel facility at the Pettah hospital is not used, even as dogs crowd wired cages placed outside, exposed to the elements.

The cages have limited space, and some have two dogs in it. This even as the Dog Breeding Rules notified this year stipulates that such cages should be large enough for the animal to sit, stand, lie and turn around in a normal manner. When asked why the repair was not included in the ABC project, Health Standing Committee chairperson K. Sreekumar told DC that he got to know about the hospital’s poor state of affairs only recently. 

“Only after the ABC programme was launched in June, we understood about the present state of affairs of the place. There seems to be some issue with the building’s drainage outlet, as water would collect inside. Now we have asked the engineering wing to prepare an estimate to correct the problem,” he said. He said that the veterinarians here had not informed the Corporation about any repair needed. The senior vet at the hospital is out of station till October for training.  Animal husbandry director N. N. Sasi, who had assured last week that he would look into the issue, said that he would ask the district-level official about the issue.