Festival of Dogs: A test of community harmony

BBMP launches Festival of Dogs to address stray dog issues, aiming to foster harmony between community and animals.

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike is set to celebrate the ‘Festival of Dogs’ on October 17, inspired by Kukkur Tihar, an annual festival where people worship dogs in October or November, originating from Nepal. However, even as the civic body announced the festival, another dog bite video in Bengaluru surfaced on social media.

The video shows a group of dogs attacking a teenage girl on the Indian Air Force station campus, Jalahalli East. Around the same locality, on August 28, a 76-year-old woman was fatally attacked by stray dogs during her morning walk. According to BBMP sources, the currently circulating video is from a similar incident that occurred on September 28, exactly a month later.

These incidents have compelled BBMP to come up with long-term programmes to tackle issues surrounding stray dogs that have remained unresolved for years.

On the day of the Festival of Dogs, the BBMP will launch a programme to address the rising issue of stray dog bites and the growing divide between communities and street animals. It has announced a new partnership with animal activists, pourakarmikas, hotel owners, and health department officials to ensure stray dogs are adequately fed. 

The initiative by BBMP’s animal husbandry division will introduce an experimental programme aimed at providing food for strays in areas where food sources have diminished for them. The programme is planned to be rolled out by December after trial runs in Manjunath Nagar, Bagalagunte, Pottery Town, and a few more areas.

Animal lovers and caregivers will have the chance to register with the BBMP’s animal husbandry division to assist in feeding stray dogs within the city’s jurisdiction. The volunteers and experts will decide on locations where strays have to be fed and at what time of the day. A registration link is available on the BBMP’s social media platforms, with the process open from October 2 to 31. While registration is not mandatory, a BBMP official stated that it would help create a database and streamline the campaign. As of October 16, as many as 244 caretakers have come forward to take part in the programme.

Once registered, pourakarmikas and hotel owners will also be involved, and feeding areas will be designated. The initiative will initially be rolled out as a pilot in selected areas. Feedback will be gathered from all stakeholders, and if successful, it will be expanded to all wards.