Chennai Corporation to increase token limit, introduce slot system at ABC centres to ease crowding
The civic body will also deploy additional doctors and support staff to speed up the microchipping and vaccination process.
A large number of pet owners waiting outside the Pullianthope ABC centre on Wednesday morning
CHENNAI: In an effort to reduce overcrowding at the special microchipping camps for pet dogs, the (GCC) will increase the daily token limit from 300 to 500 and introduce fixed slot timings across all Animal Birth Control (ABC) centres.
The civic body will also deploy additional doctors and support staff to speed up the microchipping and vaccination process.
GCC veterinary officer J Kamal Hussain told DT Next, “Tokens will be issued in specific time slots. We’re also increasing the number of assistants from 12 to 20 and adding one more doctor to the existing team of three.”
On Wednesday, at the Pulianthope ABC centre, several pet owners arrived before 10 am to avoid lengthy waiting times. The civic body issued the first 100 tokens in batches, but by 11 am, a large crowd had gathered outside the centre, forcing people to wait in the scorching heat and affecting vehicle movement on Elephant Gate Road.
Owners said that while weekend crowds were expected, weekday visits were also becoming difficult due to poor coordination and inadequate facilities. “I came at 10 am and waited nearly two hours just to enter the centre. Pets were taken in batches. I am diabetic and have high BP. Standing under the hot sun was difficult, and the constant traffic frightened the dogs,” said V Rajendran, a resident of Sowcarpet.
S Kanagarani from Vyasarpadi said that private clinics charge up to Rs 2,000 for microchipping, which many lower-middle-class families cannot afford. “To reduce overcrowding at Corporation-run ABC centres, the government should consider extending the microchipping service to government veterinary hospitals,” she said.
