The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has sparked a row with its new Rs 2.88 cr pet project to feed stray dogs in the city. As part of this program, 5,000 stray dogs will be given chicken rice every day. The BBMP will spend Rs 22 per dog to provide 367 grams of chicken rice daily, which adds up to around Rs 2.88 crore per year.
The program was first introduced under the name ‘Kukkir Tihar’ as a community campaign. Reports say that the aim of this paln is to tame aggression dogs and ensure public safety, while also getting the people involved in caring for the dogs.
Astonishingly, it is in stark contrast to BBMP’s commitment towards its mid-day meal scheme. A 2023 report by Government of Karnataka’s Fiscal Policy Institute, the cost of serving a mid-day meal to school children in Bengaluru was only Rs 12.42 per child. This included both recurring costs and non-recurring costs. While cost to serve a mid-day meal to a primary school child costed Rs 4.97, the cost to serve the same to upper primary child was Rs 7.45, which totaled up to Rs 12.42 per child.
Recently, the School Education and Literacy Department had sent notices to 568 government schools in the state for not following midday meal rules. These schools gave bananas instead of eggs without getting proper permission or informing parents. In many cases, schools were found serving bananas instead of eggs on certain days like Mondays and Saturdays, or switching between eggs and bananas during the week without approval. Some schools were also giving eggs only two or three days a week instead of as planned.
If we look at the BBMP’s budget for this year, they have also allocated Rs 60 crore for “maintenance f street dogs”, which also includes a test project to microchip them.
‘Much needed move or misplaced priorities?’ asks Internet
The new decision has sparked strong reactions on the Internet, especially on social media. Many people have criticised the move, saying that the Siddaramaiah government doesn’t have its priorities right. Some Bengaluru residents have questioned why feeding stray dogs is being treated as a top priority when the city’s 1.4 crore people are dealing with problems like broken roads, heavy traffic, and poor living conditions.
Slamming the decision, a user on X wrote, “True governance is about treating your voters like dogs and your dogs like voters.” Another said, “BBMP says it’s a serious push for animal welfare to address poor health & growing numbers of street dogs in the city. Much needed or misplaced priority?”
Sharing screenshots of the news, some X users claimed that this was just another way to “loot people”. “Poor dogs will not even get biscuit forget chicken,” a user commented. Another said, “No money for development work!! But have enough to spend on stray dogs?? This is what is called Misplaced priorities!!”
Not just the residents, but Tamil Nadu Congress MP Karti P Chidambaram also reacted to the new scheme. Chidamabaram took to X and questioned the logic behind feeding stray dogs on streets. “Is this true? Dogs have no place in the streets. They need to be relocated to shelters, where they can be fed, vaccinated & sterilised. Feeding & keeping them in a free roaming state in the streets is a huge health & safety hazard,” he wrote.