Siliguri, 11th June: BJP councillors led by Leader of the Opposition in Siliguri Municipal Corporation, Amit Jain, visited the ‘Hriday Sparsh Arogya Kendra’ located near the dumping ground along the Eastern Bypass and raised questions over the condition and functioning of the facility.
The centre was established by the Siliguri Municipal Corporation for the treatment of stray dogs. However, BJP councillors alleged that the facility was in a neglected state and questioned its effectiveness.
During the visit, the councillors noticed the presence of the ‘Biswa Bangla’ logo on two signboards at the entrance and expressed objection to it. They claimed that officials were asked to remove the logos.
The opposition team further alleged that the premises were unhygienic, with garbage scattered across the facility. They claimed that the medicine ward lacked medicines and instead contained waste materials. Similar concerns were raised about the condition of the CCU and ICU rooms, while the area where stray dogs are housed was also alleged to be unclean.
After speaking with officials, the councillors claimed they were informed that a veterinarian visits from Kalimpong only twice a month and performs sterilisation procedures on around 60 dogs. Following this, they questioned previous claims regarding the treatment of more than a thousand dogs by the civic body.
The BJP councillors also alleged a lack of transparency, claiming that officials were unable to produce the relevant register when requested during the inspection.