A dog-free city in 3-4 years: Siddaiah

A dog-free city in 3-4 years: Siddaiah

Council approves projects worth Rs55.12 crore; errant engineers to be blacklisted

Shwetha S



The BBMP has become a comfort zone for many bureaucrats and their days are numbered. These were the warnings issued by mayor SK Nataraj during the BBMP council meeting on Saturday.
Nataraj said: "For deficiency in quality of works, we will blacklist engineers who're currently on deputation from other departments. We'll review projects given to them and examine its progress. Engineers who have worked for more than three years in the BBMP will be sent back to their parent departments. After serving in the BBMP, the engineer should not come back on deputation for at least five years. New projects will not be given to them henceforth if the funds are being misused." Acting on his word, Nataraj blacklisted Karnataka Land Army Corporation Ltd officials for doing a shoddy job of filling potholes.
Addressing the menace posed by rise in the number of stray dogs, BBMP commissioner Siddaiah said the BBMP plans to make the city free of stray dogs in three years. Earlier, the councillors sought reports of the Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme's implementation from BBMP health officers.
Siddaiah said: "We have been conducting the ABC programme on a regular basis. According to a 2007 census, there are more than 2lakh stray dogs in the city. Of these, 1.7 lakh have been sterilised. We emphasise on sterilising dogs and we have increased the number of NGOs conducting this programme. CCTV cameras will be installed to monitor the programme. I assure that in another three to four years, we will make Bangalore a dog-free city."
The BBMP council meeting also passed resolutions and plans of action to improve long-pending civic amenities. Corporators raised issues such as broken sewage lines and inefficient garbage disposal. The corporators also formed a committee to follow up on projects to keep track of the approval from the offices of the chief minister and governor.
BBMP commissioner Siddaiah said: "The BBMP has identified 2,561 potholes in the city. Of these, we have filled 2,361 potholes," said the commissioner. The delay is due to rain, but the work would be completed in one month, he added.