Canine menace continues to dog BBMP

Stray solution

Realising that it might not stand even a dog’s chance to achieve its stray-neutering target, the BBMP has now invited fresh tenders so it can pursue its objective with dogged determination.

The BBMP’s efforts to primp up the City has not matched its attempts to deal with the rampant problem of strays, who, in any case, lead a dog’s life. The Palike could spend only Rs 1.82 crores of the Rs 4.45 crores earmarked for sterilisation of strays for the year 2008-09. This fiscal, the civic body funnelled Rs 5 crores, but could utilise only Rs 1 crore in the sterilisation project.

The target of rounding up street mongrels, neutering them and then setting them free to roam anew, albeit in a less reproductive way, has collapsed. Consequently, the stray dog population in the scraggly City has increased in leaps and bounds, touching nearly 200,000 according to a recent estimate. They outnumber registered pet dogs whose population is close to 1.5 lakh.

As the dog population grows and incidents of dog bite increase, the BBMP has decided to search for options other than the three pro-animal rights organisations -- Compassion Unlimited Plus Action (CUPA), Karuna and Animal Rights Fund (ARF) -- which have been carrying out sterlisation and vaccination drives for stray dogs for years under the Animals Birth Control (ABC) Programme.

The BBMP doesn’t think that it is in the dog-house and claims to be top dog in the sterilisation business. BBMP animal husbandry department joint director Parvez Ahmed Piran claims the ABC programme is showing signs of improvement. “In 2003-04 there were around 32,000 cases of dog bites.

This figure came down to 7,197 in 2008-09 and in December last year only 718 cases of dog bites came to our notice,” Piran said, hinting that people shouldn’t give the dog a bad name and then hang it.

With little achievement to show (as the rising stray population suggests), the BBMP has realised that the three non-governmental organisations were failing to live up its expectations in containing the stray menace.

So, it recently floated tenders in which four new NGOs — two from Andhra Pradesh and two from Maharashtra — won the bid. They are believed to have shown interest in executing the ABC programme. A veterinary doctor from Hebbal has also shown keenness to undertake part of the sterilisation programme.

CUPA vice-president Suparna Bakshi Ganguly admitted her organisation could not live up to the BBMP’s expectations since it is always a case of dog eat dog. “Earlier, the BBMP’s jurisdiction was 225 sq km, but now it has expanded to about 850 sq km. Our monthly target is sterilising about 600 strays,” she said.

Programme gone astray

* BBMP spent Rs 10 crore in 10 years on stray dogs.

* Palike could hardly spend 40 per cent of the allocated fund last year.

* This year just 20 per cent of the fund allocated.

* Palike pays Rs 515 and 525 for sterlisation of each male and female dog respectively

* Rs 50 for the anti-rabbies vaccine to each stray dog

* Rs 75 for mercy killing of each dog.

* Around 2 lakh stray dogs in the city, claims BBMP.

* 7197 people bitten by stray dogs in 2008-09.

* Dog-man ratio in Bangalore is around 1:20.