Dogs scare travellers

Dogs scare travellers
BY AMIT S. UPADHYE
BENGALURU


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The opening of the Bengaluru International Airport in Devanahalli has thrown up an unexpected problem — of the canine kind.

Stray dogs have become the new menace at the airport with passengers finding it hard to avoid them. To make matters worse, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagar Palike (BBMP) and animal organisations claim the airport is so far away that it does not fall under their jurisdiction, leaving BIAL struggling to deal with the strays all on its own.

The problem is mostly nocturnal with the strays becoming active as soon as the sun sets over the airport.

They then go on the prowl targeting passengers carrying eatables in bags and moving around the terminal building.

Passengers leaving the airport find they have a committee of dogs seeing them off at their cars.

“The area around the airport is open and the dogs have free entry. There are so many of them around that sometimes it’s difficult for passengers to even get into their cars or step out of them,’’ said Shivasundar, a cab driver at the BIAL air port.

“Earlier we saw dogs only occasionally close to the terminal building and the parking area. But now they are there in much greater number particularly in the evening, harassing passengers carrying food,’’ said a BIAL official.

“We have written to the civic authorities and the animal organisations to help us clear the dogs. The BBMP replied saying that it was not equipped to tackle the dog problem here,’’ the official added.

The BBMP outsources catching of stray dogs in the city and releases them on city streets after neutering them.

There are also four animal organisations involved but they say their jurisdiction ends at Yelahanka.

“Our hands are already full. There are talks of extending our jurisdiction but nothing has come of this so far. But if the dogs are creating a very big nuisance we could help the airport authorities relocate them,” said an animal activist.

The BIAL has now asked for a No Objection Certificate to enable them to remove the dogs around the airport.

The BBMP is yet to reply to the request, the BIAL official said.