MUMBAI, Jan. 26 -- Two months after the Supreme Court directed civic bodies to move stray dogs to shelters, Mumbai is still struggling to set up even a single facility. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is currently looking for land to establish one shelter with a capacity of around 200 to 500 dogs. "We are in the process of trying to get a space and get its reservation changed to set up the shelter. Once the reservation is changed and the plot officially allotted, tenders will be issued and other details will be worked out," said Dr Kalimpasha Pathan, head of the BMC's veterinary health department and general manager of the Deonar Abattoir. According to the 2024 animal census, Mumbai has 90,757 stray dogs, down from 95,172 recorded in 2014. The push for shelters has gained urgency amid growing concern over dog bites. The city reported 1,35,253 dog bite incidents last year, triggering outrage in the Maharashtra legislative assembly, with lawmakers demanding that strays be rounded up and detained. Pathan said the city has no existing shelter infrastructure because its earlier policy focused on catching dogs, sterilising them and releasing them back into their original territories. As a result, the BMC is now starting from scratch to implement the Supreme Court's November 11, 2025 order. The Animal Welfare Board of India has since issued directives to cities to create shelters. Even before any shelter has come up, Pathan said citizen complaints have surged. "Since the well-publicised SC order, the number of complaints received by us has registered a sharp rise, almost by 30%. We receive many complaints from citizens asking us to take the strays out of their areas," he said. However, in the absence of shelter facilities, the civic body can currently only sterilise dogs and release them back into the same locality. As per the standard operating procedure (SOP) for dog shelters, a 500-dog facility should span 157 ft by 90 ft, including kennel, kitchen and staff room areas. A shelter for 100 dogs must be 70 ft by 40 ft, including kennel space and basic facilities. The SOP also mandates that dogs be fed within the shelter and the premises be cleaned twice daily to prevent infections and improve waste management. Animal welfare groups, however, have raised concerns about whether shelters are workable on the ground. Sunish Kunju, founder of Plant and Animals Welfare Society (PAWS), Mumbai, said the concept needs careful planning. "Dogs are highly territorial and even if you put 10 dogs together, there are chances of a fight breaking out between them. Also, dogs tend to pick up diseases pretty fast," he said, questioning how the BMC would prevent outbreaks of infections such as gastrointestinal illness or distemper in a packed facility. Kunju also pointed to gaps in the city's current stray management system. "As a city, Mumbai is still struggling to even have basic sterilisation facilities proportional to its dog population. Even our few sterilisation centres are run in partnership with NGOs and other organisations. At this rate, isn't it a bit much to expect them to set up dog shelters proportionate to the number of stray dogs in the city?" he said....