Belagavi Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Roshan has scrapped the proposed dog sterilisation centre at Hirebagewadi village, around 32 km from the city, following resistance from local residents. The Belagavi City Corporation (BCC) had planned to shift its existing sterilisation unit — currently housed in a 100×60 sq ft shed in Shrinagar — to a larger, two-acre government plot in Hirebagewadi. The land had already been allotted for the project by the district administration.
However, villagers in the area opposed the move, expressing concerns about the site’s proximity to their homes and the newly developed campus of Rani Channamma University, which lies along the same approach road.
Speaking to TOI, BCC environmental engineer Hanumant Kaladagi confirmed: “The project was dropped by the district administration due to objections from local residents and the closeness of the location to the university. But the deputy commissioner has assured us that a new site will be identified soon.”
Sources in the BCC revealed that the same plot in Hirebagewadi was initially allocated for a biomedical waste treatment facility. That project was also cancelled two years ago, as two private waste management plants already operate within 100 km — one near Dharwad and the other near Nippani. The sterilisation centre proposal had come as a secondary use for the unused land.
