Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: Fisheries and Animal Husbandry Minister Nilkanth Halarnkar inaugurated the Mission Rabies Model Village Project at Colvale, launching a targeted initiative aimed at sustaining Goa’s near rabies-free status through community-driven interventions.
The project seeks to create replicable, humane and scientific models for rabies prevention and animal welfare by transforming selected villages into rabies-safe and animal-friendly communities. Authorities said the initiative focuses on community ownership, dog population management and long-term behavioural change to prevent the fatal but avoidable zoonotic disease.
Two panchayats — Colvale in North Goa and Velim in South Goa — have been selected for the pilot phase. Under the project, Mission Rabies, the Directorate of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services, in collaboration with the Goa Institute of Management, will conduct door-to-door surveys followed by dog vaccination, sterilisation, rabies surveillance and awareness programmes on dog-bite management. The initiative will also include healthcare for dogs and education of children and communities.
The project began on March 23 with household surveys and awareness drives, while vaccination, sterilisation and surveillance activities will continue until March 2029. Officials said the initiative aims to ensure a rabies-free dog population, reduce dog-bite incidents, promote responsible pet ownership and minimise human-animal conflict.
The government expects the model villages to serve as templates for other panchayats across the state, strengthening Goa’s position as a model for rabies control and animal welfare.
