Street dog menace: Oppn MLAs want SC directions to be extended to Karnataka

Opposition MLAs on Wednesday urged the Karnataka government to implement the Supreme Court directives on addressing the street dog menace in the state and take steps to protect the residents.

The MLAs highlighted the stray dog issue near Vidhana Soudha and the Legislators' Home, and sought the Speaker's intervention. These remarks by the MLAs came after the Supreme Court directed Delhi-NCR authorities to permanently relocate all strays from streets to shelters "at the earliest". The top court noted that there was an "extremely grim" situation due to stray dog bites resulting in rabies, particularly among children.

The call for action comes a day after two college students were attacked by stray dogs here and they were hospitalised.

The incident occurred inside the Jnanabharathi campus, near Kengeri. Raising the issue, soon after the Question Hour, JD(S) floor leader in the Assembly C B Suresh Babu said if all the corporations of the state were to take similar action, it would protect the children. Senior BJP MLA Suresh Kumar said the apex court's directions should be extended to all parts of the country. "In the last six months, 18,000 dog bites have been reported in Bengaluru, 18 people were infected by rabies. It should become applicable even in Bengaluru, Mangaluru, Mysuru and other places," he said. Another BJP MLA C N Ashwath Narayan said the court order should also be applied to the premises of Vidhana Soudha, the seat of Karnataka legislature and secretariat here, where there is street dog menace. "There are about two lakh reported dog bite incidents, it is a serious matter. We can send them (dogs) on the streets, to dog lovers' houses. The Chief Minister has tweeted expressing sympathy.... the government should take action, the Supreme Court directions should be implemented in Karnataka too," he added. In the wake of the SC directive to Delhi, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said treating stray dogs as a nuisance to be removed' is not governance - it is "cruelty". Humane societies find solutions that protect people and animals, he said, adding that, "Sterilisation, vaccination, and community care work. Fear-driven measures only create more suffering, not safety."  Pointing to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike's (BBMP) Rs 2.88 crore plan to feed about 4,000 street dogs in the city, which had led to a debate on social media recently, Suresh Babu said, "Instead of the corporation serving Biryani to dogs, let the authorities take measures to control their menace." On the dog menace at the Legislators' Home, BJP MLA Umanatha Kotian said, "We can't step out, dogs are everywhere...you (Speaker) should take note and give instructions to officials." Expressing helplessness, Speaker U T Khader said, "Some legislators want the dogs to be around, some don't want..." A few other legislators too requested the Speaker to take action, pointing out that both Vidhana Soudha and Legislators' Home come under the Speaker's jurisdiction. Earlier in February, Speaker Khader had announced that it has been decided to build shelters for dogs and to manage them with the help of NGOs, aimed at resolving the problem caused by street dogs on the Vidhana Soudha premises. He had made it clear that the dogs won't be shifted elsewhere.