JOIN USAt the review meeting, the BBMP officials were taken to task for their lack of initiative in controlling the canine menace. Chairman of the Legislative Council D H Shankaramurthy presided over the meeting in the chief minister’s absence.
The legislators asked the Palike to show “more compassion towards human beings than dogs”. It was directed to take stringent measures to ensure that the dog menace in the City was curbed. Speaking to Deccan Herald after an hour-long meeting with the legislators, Palike Commissioner Siddaiah said: “In the incidents at Yelahanka and Bagalur, the children died. But, we cannot conclusively say that they were mauled to death by the canines. We are waiting for the police investigation to be completed. With regard to controlling the dog menace, we will adopt an aggressive approach.”
The Commissioner, admitting that the dog menace was serious, said BBMP would soon try to file an impleading application along with another case, filed by the Mumbai Municipal Corporation, which is pending in the Supreme Court.
More aggressive
“We will be more aggressive in pursuing the anti-rabies vaccine (ARV) and the Animal Birth Control (ABC) programmes,” said Siddaiah. The Commissioner said BBMP would try to bring at least one lakh dogs under the ABC programme, up from the existing 54,000.
The legislators demanded that the Palike should tackle the problem more efficiently, by framing stringent rules and regulations for disposal of garbage. “We have been asked to take necessary steps for ensuring that the trade licences issued to chicken and mutton shops are regulated. The legislators asked BBMP to be more efficient in the collection and disposal of garbage,” said a Palike official.
The legislators asked BBMP to issue advertisements and create public awareness with regard to controlling the dog menace. “They said the public needs to understand how to tackle the dog menace. Disposing garbage at the wrong place and feeding stray dogs need to be controlled,” said the official.