PRAYAGRAJ, Sept. 22 -- Pet lovers, beware. The Prayagraj Municipal Corporation (PMC) has formed teams to reach out to houses in its 100 wards for locating pets and issue a registered licence of the Corporation. Any attempt to ignore the Corporation's guidelines could invite legal action including monetary fine, seizure of the pet or even a case getting registered against the owner for flouting norms. The Veterinary department of PMC has started a licencing drive for pets, both dogs and cats, in each of its 100 wards which will last for 10- to 12 days. The initiative is in accordance with the state government's campaign making licencing mandatory for pet owners. Following a rise in dog bite incidents, the UP Urban Development Department had issued Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) requiring registration of pet dogs with the local municipal corporation. The mandate applies to pet owners across the state, with specific rules varying in each municipality. According to PMC's veterinary officer Dr Vijay Amritraj, the annual licence fees for each pet was Rs 745 valid for the current financial year between April 1 to March 31 each year. "Our seven-member teams are undertaking awareness and licence making campaigns of 10 to 12 days in each ward. Announcements are also being made by PMC staff in each award. In case our team detects pets without licence in houses in any of the wards, the owner of the pet would be issued two notices at an interval of one month. In case the owner of the pet ignores the notice and fails to get a licence, a monetary fine would be levied along with seizure of the pet. The seized pet would be sent to a pet shelter home of PMC. If this also fails to make its owner get a licence issued besides giving penalty amount for getting the pet released, FIR would be lodged," he said. Till now over 1120 pet licences had been issued by the Corporation which are valid up to March 31, 2026. As per the veterinary officer, Prayagraj has an estimated 1.13 lakh stray dog population of which nearly 5200 had already undergone vaccination and sterilisation. In city limits two dog shelter homes had been set up in Kareli locality wherein sterilisation and vaccination of around 40 stray dogs could be undertaken everyday. The National Rabies Control Programme (NRCP) revealed that a total of 1,98,964 dog bites were reported in Prayagraj over two years, with 58,948 dog bites in 2023 and 1,40,016 in 2024....