Bengaluru North City Corporation (BNCC) is set to begin shifting institutional stray dogs to its newly completed shelter at Medi Agrahara this week, with the facility ready to accommodate up to 500 dogs. The Rajasthan-based NGO, Bhootpurva Sainik Welfare Sansthan, has been selected to operate the shelter, built at a cost of Rs 2 crore.

BNCC commissioner Pommala Sunil Kumar said the work order had been issued. “By Wednesday or Thursday, picking up of dogs will start. We are the first corporation to complete a shelter,” he said.

The chief minister is also expected to review the initiative at a meeting scheduled this week, Kumar said. The corporation would closely monitor the shelter’s functioning and would withhold payment if the contractor failed to maintain the required standards.

BNCC’s chief veterinary officer Dr HK Gangadharaiah said the corporation had awarded a one-year contract at Rs 3,050 per dog per month. “We had estimated around 900 institutional dogs in BNCC limits about six months ago. However, some institutions have offered to continue taking care of the dogs on their campuses.

The Animal Welfare Board of India rules have a provision for this if the institution has more than two acres,” he said.

On concerns over pollution clearances, Gangadharaiah said a team from the pollution control board had visited the shelter, following RTIs filed by citizens, and have not raised any objections.

He said the shelter currently has a 15-foot pit and biomedical waste is being managed through a firm that has an MoU with the adjoining ABC centre. “A BDA layout is coming up nearby. Once the underground drainage is completed, we will connect the shelter to it,” he said.

Apart from institutional dogs, the corporation also plans to pick up aggressive dogs. “It is better to pick up aggressive dogs even from the point of view of their own safety. Recently, there was an instance where a dog was killed by people after a biting incident,” he said.

BNCC is also proposing another 500-dog shelter in Dasarahalli, which will be taken up after the present facility begins functioning.

West shelter waste: KSPCB flags possible Vrishabhavathi discharge

Meanwhile, Karnataka State Pollution Control Board has written to Bengaluru West City Corporation, seeking details of clearances and environmental safeguards for its dog shelter at Sumanahalli, besides information on the quantity of water to be used daily, treatment and disposal of wastewater, and solid waste management.

The board has also raised the possibility of wastewater flowing into Vrishabhavathi river and sought details of measures taken to prevent such discharge.

In its response to an RTI filed by advocate Geetha Misra, KSPCB stated consent to establish, an approved waste disposal plan, consent to operate and other clearances had not been obtained for the shelter.

“Apart from animal welfare, these shelters also pose a threat to human health,” she said, adding the noise generated by the shelters could cause sleep disturbance for nearby residents.

Source: The Times of India