Stray dogs attacked two students of Dr BR Ambedkar School of Economics University on Tuesday on the Bangalore University campus while they were on a morning walk, weeks after Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) drew flak over a plan to feed stray dogs non-vegetarian food at a cost of Rs 2.88 crore.
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Dr BR Ambedkar School of Economics University is on Bangalore University’s campus, spread over about 1,000 acres. The campus witnesses more than a thousand footfalls daily, and many living in nearby areas go there for morning walks. It also houses the National Law School of India University (NLSUI).
The students, Soujanya G J from Haveri and Rega Nikshitha from Telangana are in the final year of their graduation course. “They were on their morning walk at two different places. The incidents were reported between 6.30 am and 7 am. We do not know what triggered the stray dogs. The victims were shifted to a hospital for further treatment and they are recovering there,” said a source at Bangalore University.
Speaking to indianexpress.com, G Lokesh Ram, a student leader and research fellow, said the dog menace was rampant at the university. “A lot of stray dogs that are caught in residential areas are sterilised and are abandoned here. It is not just about morning walk, but also it is hard for us to walk during day and night time in the campus. As we speak, I suspect that there are about 300-350 stray dogs on the campus and there is less space for them to get food,” he added.
Vikas Suralkar Kishor, Special Commissioner, BBMP, told indianexpress.com that he would not deny the students’ claims. But he said it was illegal to relocate stray dogs.
“Generally, if there is a case of dog bite complaint, we take those dogs and keep them under observation for 10 days to check if they have rabies. In case of general complaints, we catch the dogs, vaccinate and sterilise them before releasing them to the same area. But now, we have started multiple observation centres where dog bites have been reported repeatedly. We keep these dogs in observation centres,” he added.
Dr T Chandraiah, Joint Director of Animal Husbandry, did not respond to calls made by indianexpress.com.
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The BBMP in July launched a scheme to feed rice and chicken to 5,000 street dogs in selected areas of the city. The civic body was about to spend Rs 22 per dog a day and the estimated budget was Rs 2.88 crore.
Also in July, a pack of dogs attacked Seethappa, 68, who had stepped out of his house around 3 am in Kempegowda Layout of Kodigehalli. Earlier, in August 2024, stray dogs fatally attacked Rajdulari Sinha, a retired schoolteacher, inside the Air Force East residential camp in Jalahalli.
According to the state health department, Karnataka reported 2.81 lakh dog bite cases and 26 people died till July 31. Vijayapura reported 15,527 dog bite cases, followed by Bengaluru city (13,831), Hassan (13,388), Dakshina Kannada (12,524), and Bagalkot (12,392), among other places.