India, May 26 -- Five years after the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) began the exercise of designating feeding spots for stray dogs to reduce conflict between residents and animal feeders, the civic body has managed to identify only 93 approved locations across the city, exposing the slow pace of implementation amid mounting citizen complaints.

In May 2023, PMC conducted a census of stray dogs in Pune city, estimating that the canine population had decreased from 3,15,000 in 2018 to 1,79,940 stray dogs in 2023. The 34 newly merged villages in the municipal limit have around 1.50 lakh stray dog population. The PMC in its jurisdiction has over 3.30 lakhs of stray dog population.

The limited number of designated spots has left many neigh...