K'taka HC issues notice to BBMP as petitioner questions propriety of microchipping stray dogs
Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has issued notice to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) regarding its Request for Proposal (RFP) for the vaccination of stray dogs and implanting microchips inside the bodies of the animals.
The notice was issued by the HC bench consisting of Justices Sunil Dutt Yadav and Venkatesh Naik T, after animal caregiver Priyadarshini S filed a public interest litigation (PIL) questioning the BBMP's Request for Proposal.
The petitioner has complained that the BBMP adopted a combined plan for vaccination of stray dogs using microchips that can be scanned. She has also said that, going by the context of the Animal Birth Control (ABC) rules, the primary mandate of the city corporation is to sterilize or vaccinate the dogs in order to control their population. The locals, however, are well aware that the BBMP is still struggling to set up legally mandated ABC surgical centres at all zones of the city.
The court has also been told that specific approval has not been obtained from the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) regarding the microchipping project on stray dogs, and that an invasive procedure at a large scale as planned by the BBMP is not be found anywhere else in the world. The dogs of Bengaluru cannot be treated as trial samples for an experimental combination of vaccination and microchipping, unless a pilot study has been conducted earlier under controlled conditions.
The petitioner objected to the BBMP desiring to have one RFP for various specialized vaccination procedures including microchipping, infrastructure and monitoring, pointing out that the procedures needed focused implementation plans. It would not be possible for the BBMP to get the same set of people to efficiently undertake all these tasks, without prior discussion and planning with AWBI-identified NGOs, she added.
The court was asked to quash and set aside the tender notification and also direct the respondents to follow the rules set by the ABC while issuing further tender notifications, with a declaration that the respondents are strictly adhering to the ABC rules.
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Youth drowns in Durga falls in Karkala
Udupi (Karnataka), Nov 28: A 19-year-old boy drowned on Thursday while bathing in Durga falls near Karkala, police said.
According to police, a group of seven college students arrived at the falls and were taking bath.
In the afternoon, Joyal Dias slipped and fell into the deep gorge while trying to get into the water to take bath.
When Karkala rural police reached the location, they launched a search. After much effort, they were able to locate and retrieve the body.
Further investigation is on, police said.
