BENGALURU: While all five corporations under Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) have identified a total of 463 ‘dog feeding spots’ in their jurisdictions, animal lovers and feeders rue that the spots were randomly selected and the exercise was not conducted scientifically. They argue that dogs are territorial in nature and need multiple feeding spots, even if they belong to the same area, and the spots must be identified in association with feeders and animal lovers.
Animal feeders said in many areas, the spots are on busy main roads, next to garbage dumping spots, urination spots and vacant sites. Bengaluru-based animal activist Arun Prasad said the total identified spots in the city are miniscule and took a dig at the GBA, stating that the exercise was on the lines of setting up Indira Canteens, which were opened in every ward, irrespective of whether people would come there to eat.
Objecting to the randomly marked dog feeding spots, Prasad said they are not identified as per the court order and that GBA took up the entire exercise just to show some compliance with the order.
Sharing an example of a feeding spot identified by Bengaluru Central City Corporation (BCCC) in Wilson Garden, Prasad said, “They have identified a spot on 10th Cross Road, near Hombegowda Boys High School, where there are no stray dogs. GBA officials should have marked the spots based on inputs from regular dog feeders. Having one feeding spot for all the area dogs put together will not help, as dogs are territorial and do not let other dogs enter their territory.”
Aparna Rai, a dog feeder and resident of Whitefield’s Karumariamman Road, said, “I demanded that at least three dog feeding spots be identified, but we got only one. However, that lone feeding spot is also gone as some people have removed the ‘feeding spot’ board and are not allowing us to feed dogs.”
For areas falling under BCCC, only 90 feeding spots are identified. Where should the other hundreds of stray dogs be fed, questioned Prasad. Arguing that dogs are territorial, and must be fed within their territories, he said, “Multiple feeding spots must be identified and only that can ensure that dogs are fed regularly and their aggression and dog bite incidents are curbed, which is the sole intention of the initiative.”
FEEDING SPOTS IN CITY CORPORATIONS
Bengaluru East - 150
Bengaluru Central - 90
Bengaluru West - 85
Bengaluru North - 70
Bengaluru South - 68