Bengaluru civic body to celebrate ‘Festival of Dogs’ on October 17
The Hindu
BBMP's 'Festival of Dogs' on October 17 to celebrate the bond with street dogs and promote coexistence. #BITEFREELOCALITY.
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has decided to celebrate ‘Festival of Dogs’ on October 17 by bringing together Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) and animal caretakers across the city to share layers of stories of love and bond they share with streeties.
In a press statement, Suralkar Vikas Kishor, Special Commissioner of Health, BBMP, said, “Dogs are more often than not looked at negatively with main focus on dog bites and fear of attacks, while most of the dogs are very loyal, obedient, protective and a beautiful companion for humans. While preventive measures to manage conflicts are advocated, we are keen on celebrating and highlighting their positive additions to the society.”
Harmonious coexistence with animals is critical to maintain ecological balance around us. Beyond animal birth control and vaccinations, understanding animal behaviours and accepting them the way nature has created them is also important, added the release.
“BBMP animal husbandry, along with Sahavarthin Animal Welfare Trust and other forthcoming interested entities, is intending to roll out multiple initiatives in the coming days under the umbrella of #BITEFREELOCALITY to create coexistence champions who can work together in building a humane environment for animals,” stated the release.
On the same day, BBMP will also kickstart pilot feeding exercise by on-boarding pourakarmikas of 4 wards to assist in feeding community dogs by coordinating with restaurants in that area.
“As the project progresses, we will improve the usage of leftover food by connecting the restaurants with more caretakers in each area, that way dogs are fed consistently everyday,” he said.
If you are keen on being part of all the upcoming initiatives as a volunteer from your ward, then please scan the code, fill up the form and submit it before October 15, 2024. You can also contact 1533 for any further questions.
Primary Health Centre (PHC) teams should refer identified high-risk pregnant women to higher health centres well in advance without waiting for the estimated date of delivery (EDD). PHCs, which do not have adequate facilities for handling emerging complications during the antenatal, intranatal, and postnatal period, should counsel pregnant women in advance for referral to higher centres for safe confinement, according to the latest instructions on ‘Birth Planning’ issued by the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine.