India, Feb. 23 -- Amid a rise in dog bite cases across the district, the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) has launched a special public health initiative titled "Rabies-Free Thane", aiming to vaccinate over 25,000 stray dogs within the next month.

The initiative comes 10 days after Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde directed the Thane district administration to construct permanent dog shelters and intensify sterilisation efforts following complaints over increasing dog bite incidents.

The civic body has formed a 50 member trained task force to carry out systematic anti-rabies vaccination drives across key zones of the city. Officials said over 5,000 stray dogs will be covered in the initial phase, with operations being conducted in st...