Bengaluru faces shortage of shelters as Supreme Court orders relocation of stray dogs
Bengaluru: The Supreme Court recently directed that all stray dogs in public spaces such as hospitals, schools, colleges, and parks must be shifted into shelters. While the order calls for relocating a large number of dogs, Bengaluru reportedly lacks the infrastructure to house even a few hundred dogs for large-scale Animal Birth Control (ABC) programs.
The Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) is now scouting for locations to set up new dog pounds and is planning a series of initiatives to reduce dog bites across the city. “Our first priority is to set up more centres to house the dogs, and instructions have been given to all the corporations,” Deccan Herald quoted Maheshwar Rao, GBA Commissioner, as saying.
At present, there are about eight centres conducting ABC programs and a few observation centres. However, Rao acknowledged that limited space has slowed progress, prompting the authority to seek public support. “If anyone can provide us space to set up observation centres to house dogs, we can go ahead immediately. Our officials are also trying to scout suitable places,” he said.
Corporation commissioners have also asked officials to survey and identify dogs that need to be relocated so that the required infrastructure can be planned and set up. Institutions across the city have been asked to report the number of dogs on their premises, which will guide further action, added the report.
While the GBA is now focusing on better infrastructure and new initiatives, many earlier proposals remain unimplemented. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) had previously announced measures to control the stray dog population, including microchipping strays to track neutering status and community feeding programs to reduce aggressive behaviour. However, none of these measures were carried out.
“The tenders did not receive a good response. Though we invited tenders twice, we could not get a qualified agency to take up these works. Now, the individual corporations will take over,” DH quoted a senior GBA official as saying.
Rao acknowledged that many programs stalled after the GBA and five corporations took over from BBMP, but emphasised that the first priority is to implement the Supreme Court order and improve infrastructure, with other initiatives to be addressed later based on priority.
Over the last three months, the capital city has recorded at least three dog-bite incidents, including one fatality. Yet, despite repeated incidents, there seems to be no impact on the ground, and residents say they still go out in fear of being hounded by packs of dogs, added DH.
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Karnataka: Indigo disruption forces newlyweds to attend reception online
Hubballi (Karnataka) (PTI): The venue was all decked up and a delicious spread ready for the invitees. But Megha Ksheerasagar and Sangam Das could not be present for their own wedding reception, thanks to the national flight disruptions that has sent many passengers across the country into a tizzy.
The newlyweds' reception was fixed here on December 3, but the couple was forced to attend their grand event only via video conference due to the disruptions in top carrier Indigo's operations, mainly due to crew woes.
Not meaning to miss the important day, the couple appeared on a large screen at the venue through video conferencing from Bhubaneswar, greeted the guests and apologised for not being personally present.
Instead, the bride's parents graced the occasion at the scheduled reception venue--Gujarat Bhavan, here, on behalf of the couple that had tied the knot on November 23 in Odisha's Bhubaneswar.
According to the family, the couple, both software engineers, work in Bengaluru. The reception was arranged at the bride's native place in Hubballi on Wednesday.
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To be part of their special day, the couple had booked tickets on the Bhubaneswar-Bengaluru-Hubballi route for December 2. Some relatives had booked tickets on the Bhubaneswar-Mumbai-Hubballi route. However, due to operational disruptions, IndiGo flights were continuously delayed from 9 am on December 2 until early morning on December 3, and were eventually cancelled.
"My daughter's wedding happened on November 23 and we had organised a reception at our native place in Hubballi for people here. The flight kept getting delayed and at the last moment, at around 4 am, it got cancelled. Now what could we do after that. We had to come up with some solution. Then I decided to do the reception online. I immediately arranged for a screen and asked my daughter and son-in-law to join the reception online," the bride's father Anil Kumar Ksheerasagar told PTI Videos.
He urged the central government to take corrective measures so that public, being the tax payers, don't suffer.
"What the problem with IndiGo is, we don't know. My daughter and son-in-law were supposed to come via an IndiGo flight but that got cancelled. IndiGo alone can't be blamed. The government must understand that it is in case of emergencies that people prefer flights. Some measures need to be taken to resolve this issue. When the PM's flight gets cancelled, he is taken by helicopter. Why is the same not done for us, the common people. We also have emergencies, don't we. The government must think of this, and if they ignore public woes, they should remember that we are also VIPs because we pay tax."
Relatives had come for the reception from across the country--Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Bagalkote, Davangere and Belagavi.
"I didn't know what to do as relatives and guests had come from so many places. I was stressed, but then I quickly decided to do it online," Ksheerasagar said.
As the couple could not travel to Hubballi, the bride's parents sat in place of the newly-weds at the reception venue and conducted the rituals, while the bride and groom, dressed up in Bhubaneswar, attended their grand reception online.
