Lack of bidders stalls BBMP’s stray dog projects

Bengaluru: A limited number of players in the animal welfare and related technologies sector has made it difficult for the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to roll out new programmes. While there have been numerous complaints over the monitoring and management of street dogs by the BBMP, the civic body has come up with a number of projects to better monitor the vaccination and management of stray dogs.

From microchipping of dogs to community feeding to the construction of new shelter homes, the BBMP had planned a number of initiatives, but none of them have taken off as the civic body has not been able to find suitable companies to implement the plans.

In the second call for microchipping of city dogs, the BBMP was able to finalise a vendor only to realise that he did not have complete expertise.

“It is not enough that they provide microchips. We need a comprehensive set-up with readers and a complete solution. The company that was awarded the tender during the second call could not provide a complete solution. Hence we had to terminate it. Now, we have called a tender for the third time. It is just that there are a limited number of players in the sector,” explained Suralkar Vikas Kishore, BBMP Special Commissioner.

The microchips help store the vaccination status of the dogs and thus prevent multiple vaccinations for the same dog. They also help identify and track a dog’s location. If implemented, BBMP would be the first municipal body in the country to embed microchips in stray dogs.

Tenders for stray dog feeding programme draw poor response

Recently, BBMP also floated tenders to feed stray dogs across the city. This, officials opined, could bring down aggression among dogs. However, the tender did not garner much response, and only two bidders have come forward, officials said.

Sources said that the BBMP’s plan to construct observation centres at Mahadevapura and Bommanahalli has also not received satisfactory responses from bidders.