BENGALURU, 13 AUG

Opposition MLAs on Wednesday urged the State government to implement the Supreme Court directives to address the “street dog menace,” as a JD(S) legislator bragged about having poisoned and killed 2,500 dogs in Chikkamaggaluru. 

Raising the issue, soon after the Question Hour, JD(S) floor leader in the Assembly, CB Suresh Babu, said if all the corporations of the State were to take similar action, it would protect the children.

JD(S)’s SL Bhojegowda said he oversaw the killing of the dogs while serving as the Chairman of the Chikkamagaluru Municipal Council.

"We had mixed something with meat and fed about 2,500 dogs and buried them under coconut trees... let us go to jail also if needed for the safety of our kids," he reportedly said. The MLAs highlighted the stray dog issue near Vidhana Soudha and the Legislators' Home and sought the Speaker's intervention.

"In the last six months, 18,000 dog bites have been reported in Bengaluru, and 18 people were infected by rabies. It should become applicable even in Bengaluru, Mangaluru, Mysuru and other places," BJP MLA Suresh Kumar said.

Pointing to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike's (BBMP) Rs 2.88 crore plan to feed about 4,000 street dogs in the City, Suresh Babu said, "Instead of serving Biryani to dogs, let the authorities take measures to control their menace."

Another BJP MLA, CN Ashwath Narayan, said the court order should also be applied to the premises of Vidhana Soudha.

The Supreme Court had directed Delhi-NCR authorities to permanently relocate all strays from streets to shelters "at the earliest".