Karnataka High Court expresses concern over feeding stray dogs at prominent areas
Says sympathy to animals good, but not at expense of public safety
Bangaluru: The Karnataka High Court, led by Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale and Justice Krishna S Dixit, voiced their disapproval regarding caregivers feeding stray dogs next to the gate of Vidhana Soudha, a significant area in Bangalore.
The court considered a lawyer's plea, urging the proper implementation of Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rules. During the hearing, the bench expressed concerns about the practice, emphasizing the need for designated feeding spots to avoid creating chaos.
“Some areas which are important areas, including for safety reasons, certain citizens enter in this area...vehicle owners come next to the gate of Vidhana Soudha in vehicles with barrels, vessels full of some material. I don’t mind showing some sympathy to animals but not at the cost of chaos created...just next to the gate of Vidhana Soudha every morning at 6.45 some people came in vehicle may be some good people with good intention, but they bring some food material in the vehicle and feed to the dogs and birds and what not, everyday feature. Is it not health hazardous? Not causing disturbance?" the Bench observed
The Chief Justice highlighted that while the intention of providing food to stray dogs is commendable, feeding them near prominent areas could inconvenience passersby and residents. He referenced guidelines issued by the Animal Welfare Board of India in March 2021, urging caregivers to identify specific feeding spots for stray animals. The court also cited a 2015 guideline that suggested those feeding street dogs should actively participate in their sterilization and vaccination.
“The common experience is that except feeding of street dogs there is no incident being reported by corporation or public body that the citizens who feed stray dogs are coming forward to assist and help the corporation or public bodies in the exercise of sterilisation or vaccination of stray dogs,” the CJ said.
The court raised concerns about the State government's lack of response in the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed over a year ago. Despite seeking a final chance to reply in January, the government had not filed any response by the hearing date. The court expressed disappointment over the government's non-responsive approach and demanded a comprehensive reply, including remedial measures, within three weeks.
The court adjourned the hearing to November 15, warning that no further adjournments would be granted. It emphasized that if the government failed to file a reply, appropriate orders would be passed against the state authorities. The court stressed the importance of timely responses and instructed the government to ensure its law officers are promptly informed to avoid further delays.
The issue pertains not only to the feeding of stray dogs near Vidhana Soudha but also to other public areas, including Cubbon Park. The court highlighted the potential risks associated with feeding stray dogs in locations frequently used by schoolchildren, emphasizing the duty of citizens to ensure their activities do not pose threats to fellow citizens' safety and well-being.
"In morning hours, the internal road is used by school going children either for attending school or classes. Feeding stray dogs on undedicated locations would certainly cause some apprehension in the mind of school going children and the possibility of some stray dog rushing to school going children, cannot be ruled out...duty is cast upon such citizens to ensure that activity shall not cause hindrance or health hazard to his fellow citizens,” the Court observed.
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Netanyahu recommends his Cabinet approve Hezbollah cease-fire proposal
Beirut, Nov 26: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that he would recommend his cabinet adopt a United States-brokered ceasefire agreement with Lebanon's Hezbollah, as Israeli warplanes struck across Lebanon, killing at least 23 people.
The Israeli military also issued a flurry of evacuation warnings — a sign it was aiming to inflict punishment on Hezbollah down to the final moments before any ceasefire takes hold. For the first time in the conflict, Israeli ground troops reached parts of Lebanon's Litani River, a focal point of the emerging deal.
In a televised statement, Netanyahu said he would present the ceasefire to Cabinet ministers later on Tuesday, setting the stage for an end to nearly 14 months of fighting.
Netanyahu said the vote was expected later Tuesday. It was not immediately clear when the ceasefire would go into effect, and the exact terms of the deal were not released. The deal does not affect Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza, which shows no signs of ending.
The evacuation warnings covered many areas, including parts of Beirut that previously have not been targeted. The warnings, coupled with fear that Israel was ratcheting up attacks before a ceasefire, sent residents fleeing. Traffic was gridlocked, and some cars had mattresses tied to them. Dozens of people, some wearing their pajamas, gathered in a central square, huddling under blankets or standing around fires as Israeli drones buzzed loudly overhead.
Hezbollah, meanwhile, kept up its rocket fire, triggering air raid sirens across northern Israel.
Lebanese officials have said Hezbollah also supports the deal. If approved by all sides, the deal would be a major step toward ending the Israel-Hezbollah war that has inflamed tensions across the region and raised fears of an even wider conflict between Israel and Hezbollah's patron, Iran.
The deal calls for a two-month initial halt in fighting and would require Hezbollah to end its armed presence in a broad swath of southern Lebanon, while Israeli troops would return to their side of the border. Thousands of Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers would deploy in the south, and an international panel headed by the United States would monitor all sides' compliance.
But implementation remains a major question mark. Israel has demanded the right to act should Hezbollah violate its obligations. Lebanese officials have rejected writing that into the proposal. Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz insisted on Tuesday that the military would strike Hezbollah if the U.N. peacekeeping force, known as UNIFIL, doesn't provide “effective enforcement” of the deal.
“If you don't act, we will act, and with great force,” Katz said, speaking with UN special envoy Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert.
The European Union's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said Tuesday that Israel's security concerns had been addressed in the deal also brokered by France.
“There is not an excuse for not implementing a ceasefire. Otherwise, Lebanon will fall apart,” Borrell told reporters in Italy on the sidelines of a Group of Seven meeting. He said France would participate on the ceasefire implementation committee at Lebanon's request.
Bombardment of Beirut's southern suburbs continues
Even as Israeli, US, Lebanese and international officials have expressed growing optimism over a ceasefire, Israel has continued its campaign in Lebanon, which it says aims to cripple Hezbollah's military capabilities.
An Israeli strike on Tuesday levelled a residential building in the central Beirut district of Basta — the second time in recent days warplanes have hit the crowded area near the city's downtown. At least seven people were killed and 37 wounded, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.
Three people were killed in a separate strike in Beirut and three in a strike on a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon. Lebanese state media said another 10 people were killed in the eastern Baalbek province. Israel says it targets Hezbollah fighters and their infrastructure.
Earlier, Israeli jets struck at least six buildings in Beirut's southern suburbs. One strike slammed near the country's only airport, sending plumes of smoke into the sky. The airport has continued to function despite its location on the Mediterranean coast next to the densely populated suburbs where many of Hezbollah's operations are based.
Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee issued evacuation warnings for 20 buildings in the suburbs, as well as a warning for the southern town of Naqoura where UNIFIL is headquartered.
UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti told The Associated Press that peacekeepers will not evacuate.
Other strikes hit in the southern city of Tyre, where the Israeli military said it killed a local Hezbollah commander.
The Israeli military also said its ground troops clashed with Hezbollah forces and destroyed rocket launchers in the Slouqi area on the eastern end of the Litani River, a few kilometres from the Israeli border.
Previous ceasefire hopes were dashed
Under the ceasefire deal, Hezbollah would be required to move its forces north of the Litani, which in some places is about 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of the border.
A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, the strongest Iranian-backed force in the region, would likely significantly calm regional tensions that have led to fears of a direct, all-out war between Israel and Iran. It's not clear how the ceasefire will affect the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Hezbollah had long insisted that it would not agree to a ceasefire until the war in Gaza ends, but it dropped that condition.
Hezbollah began firing into northern Israel, saying it was showing support for the Palestinians, a day after Hamas carried out its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, triggering the Gaza war. Israel returned fire on Hezbollah, and the two sides have been exchanging barrages ever since.
Israel escalated its campaign of bombardment in mid-September and later sent troops into Lebanon, vowing to put an end to Hezbollah fire so tens of thousands of evacuated Israelis could return to their homes.
More than 3,760 people have been killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon the past 13 months, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The bombardment has driven 1.2 million people from their homes. Israel says it has killed more than 2,000 Hezbollah members.
Hezbollah fire has forced some 50,000 Israelis to evacuate in the country's north, and its rockets have reached as far south in Israel as Tel Aviv. At least 75 people have been killed, more than half of them civilians. More than 50 Israeli soldiers have died in the ground offensive in Lebanon.
After previous hopes for a ceasefire were dashed, U.S. officials cautioned that negotiations were not yet complete and noted there could be last-minute hitches that delay or destroy an agreement.
“Nothing is done until everything is done,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby said.
While the ceasefire proposal is expected to be approved if Netanyahu brings it to a vote in his security Cabinet, one hard-line member, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, said he would oppose it. He said on X that a deal with Lebanon would be a “big mistake” and a “missed historic opportunity to eradicate Hezbollah.”
