For this exercise, the Residents’ Welfare Associations and local dog lovers will also assist the civic body, as they have a better understanding of the area. (File Photo)Sanitation workers of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) have been tasked with identifying dog feeding spots in every ward in line with the Supreme Court’s orders, said an official of the civic body.“We have instructed our sanitation workers to identify vacant areas or spots that are not frequented by children and the elderly. This will be done in the next three to four days since we want to implement the apex court’s order without any delay,” the MCD official said.Last week, the SC had termed its earlier order on confining stray dogs in Delhi-NCR to dedicated shelters instead of releasing them as “too harsh”. It had directed that these dogs be returned to the area from where they were picked up after sterilisation, deworming and vaccination, in accordance with the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023.It also said dedicated feeding areas should be created for stray dogs, and that those who feed them on the streets would face proceedings. “Municipal authorities shall forthwith commence an exercise for creating dedicated feeding spaces for the stray dogs in each municipal ward. The feeding areas shall be created/ identified keeping in view the population and concentration of stray dogs in the particular municipal ward. Gantries/ notice boards shall be placed near such designated feeding areas, mentioning that stray dogs shall only be fed in such areas,” it had said.For this exercise, the Residents’ Welfare Associations and local dog lovers will also assist the civic body, as they have a better understanding of the area. “We don’t want to upset any stakeholders while marking the designated spots, but our priority is to prevent dog bite incidents,” the official said.He added that the spots will be regularly cleaned by sanitation workers and that people will strictly not be allowed to feed strays on the streets.Animal welfare groups had previously urged the speedy creation of designated feeding spots, emphasising that dogs cannot go hungry for days and that it can make them restless and aggressive.Story continues below this adMeanwhile, following the apex court’s order, hundreds of stray dogs have been released after being housed at ABC centres — some of them had been picked up from the Red Fort area ahead of Independence Day.However, the court had said that ‘aggressive dogs’ shall be kept in shelters, and not let out on the streets. As reported earlier, the civic body has plans to keep these dogs at its two ABC centres at Bela Road and Dwarka Sector 27.Animal welfare experts have said that the definition of ‘aggressive dogs’ needs to be defined scientifically.Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:delhi