The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has ramped up its anti-rabies vaccination drive in each ward of the city. The civic body, aiming to eradicate rabies, is planning to vaccinate at least 70% of the stray dogs in Bengaluru and has set a daily target of 800 dogs, Manjunath Shinde, BBMP Joint Director (Animal Husbandry), said. BBMP Commissioner Gaurav Gupta on July 7 launched Anti-Rabies Vaccine (ARV) vehicles, which will travel across the city to vaccinate the stray canines. These vehicles will have to mandatorily ply for at least 25 days in a  month, Shinde was quoted as saying in a Deccan Herald report. 

The same report quoted the Commissioner as saying that eight vehicles will travel across the city to undertake the vaccine programme as well as Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme. He said that each vehicle will have a driver and two trained personnel to catch the dogs. Shinde told TNM that there are nearly three lakh stray dogs in Bengaluru and that they had vaccinated nearly 47,164 dogs in 2020. “Earlier, the BBMP used to vaccinate those dogs after a complaint was registered of a dog bite. However, the BBMP began an annual anti-rabies vaccination drive last year. During the first lockdown, it was difficult to carry out the programme since animal husbandry operations were not exempted from the lockdown, unlike the second lockdown. We could vaccinate many strays in the duration as there was not much traffic,” he added. Since January 2021, the civic body has vaccinated at least 41,934 stray dogs, he said.

Speaking about the birth control programme, the Joint Director said that over 50% of stray dogs have been neutered in the city. However, it is difficult to keep track of, since dogs give birth many times over the course of their lives. In Yelahanka and Dasarahalli zones, the BBMP has managed to neuter 90% of the dogs, he added. 

The civic body had earlier launched a dedicated helpline that receives complaints related to rabies-infected dogs.