nagpur in what might prove to be a disastrous step for stray dogs nagpur municipal corporation nmc has shifted more than 30 dogs for animal birth control abc surgeries at the bhandewadi animal shelter which is mired in controversy over its bad shape the civic bodys decision to perform abc surgeries at the shelter has kicked up a row among animal activists who feel that the animal shelter is not prepared for this some 32 stray dogs were shifted to the shelter on tuesday morning by nmc officials the shelter was recently in focus for pitiable conditions and nmcs negligent attitude towards maintaining proper hygiene at the premises a case regarding the same is also pending in nagpur bench of bombay high court despite this the civic body is contemplating surgeries on dogs at the shelter and this has created a stir among animal welfare activists people for animals pfa which is informally running the shelter home since more than three years now has raised strong objection against nmcs decision accusing the civic body of flouting guidelines of animal welfare board of india awbi pfa city chief karishma galani has argued that the shelter is not a very hygienic place for conducting surgeries the premises is always buzzing with flies and other insects because of the bhandewadi garbage dumpyard moreover the shelter does not have proper infrastructure for conducting abc operations as mentioned in the guidelines prescribed by awbi she said galani further said that the shelter already has around 50 dogs in to the newly constructed portion of the shelter the injured and sick dogs are being kept in a place without electricity due to nonavailability of fans and coolers flies and other insects keep hovering over their wounds posing a serious threat to the dogs lives she added nmc veterinary officer dr gajendra mahalle confirmed that the animals were shifted to bhandewadi but said that the existing hall at the shelter will be developed into a surgical laboratory we had to shift from our earlier abc centre at gittikhadan as we wanted to cover new areas like ashi nagar zone and lakadganj if we operate upon dogs at bhandewadi animal shelter we will take proper precautions by taking expert guidance he saidexpert speak toi spoke to some veterinary experts to find out whether the conditions under which abc operates upon animals are ok national secretary of national association for welfare of animals and research nawar dr ajay poharkar said that proper hygienic conditions must be the first priority while performing surgery standard operation protocol sop must be strictly followed and the premises must be insectfree and under aseptic conditions the premises should also be free of any kind of contaminations or infections he added agreeing with him district animal husbandry officer zilla parishad dr ba wani said that proper sterilized operation theatre is a must abc operations cannot be conducted anywhere the place should be neat and clean and must have hygienic conditions he added