Thursday, September 9, 2010

Stray dogs

In the campus, which is quiet and pollution free, the stray dogs pose a major problem. The children have been chased by packs of dogs in the recent past. I walk from my home to the department and back. Normally, my working hours in the department is restricted to 7:30 am to 7:30 pm. However, yesterday, as I walking to my home at around 9 pm, a dog continuously followed me and nearly came to bite me. However, I had a bunch of research papers that I was carrying. I threw the bunch of papers at it and it ran away. While this is indeed a good use for my research papers, I think the administration should take steps to curb this menace. The problem is that the person who is in charge of this is retiring next year and does not seem to bother ! However, the main problem is that there is no easy solution. The BBMP is unwilling to pick up dogs, the NGOs only neuter them and bring them back, there are too many gates and places through which the dogs can enter. So, while everyone agrees that there is a problem, there exists no easy solution.

28 comments:

Sachin said...

One observation:

Stray dogs survive in the campus , due to bad waste management policies.

Near the C mess : the waste food is dumped in a small hut near it, and all the stray dogs feed off it!

The stray dogs in IISc are probably the most well-fed among all dogs!

Sachin Shanbhag said...

Maybe you should borrow some leopards from IIT Bombay :)

Anonymous said...

Stray Dogs is a problem in any big institution in India especially in North India...

one thing I have noticed is that all the IISc Stray dogs are very healthy :)
near the Gym cafe at night they gather and there a group who regularly feed them... the same stuff is with Tea Board... its scary going there at night... there are no lights and you dont see the dogs... many times, you dont realize that you are about to hit a dog... stl there are people who nicely feed them...
I completely agree with Sachin with the C mess problem !!!

Anonymous said...

What is the solution to this problem? You may either kill these dogs or shift them to outside the campus. I don't think PETA will sit silent when you turn hostile.

Anonymous said...

In IIT Madras there was a similar situation a few years back. The dogs started attacking deers in the campus (IITM is connected with a national park and there are many deers in the campus) and killed a few deers. So the students and faculty took it upon themselves and there were teams keeping vigil in the night (for real!). Maybe IISc can do something similar and prevent dogs from attacking humans (half kidding).

Anonymous said...

C mess dogs are the healthiest!!!!!


some of them look like wolves :DDD

Anonymous said...

Still, there are big dogs in IIT Madras, and they are not caught.
some small healthy dogs are caught though! I hope we will have some easy solution!

Ankur Kulkarni said...

I agree with Sachin. I am pretty sure throwing papers won't make leopards run away. I wonder what will? May be reading out the papers? :-)

Giri@iisc said...

You are underestimating the value of my papers :-) The very threat of showing the papers to them probably can make the leopards run away !!

Anonymous said...

Turn non-vegetarian, figure out some dog-recipes from your friends in Korea, and you will be happy and the dog menace will be gone :-)

Anonymous said...

To anon above: Yuck!

Anonymous said...

Its not just dogs...cats are also becoming a big menace. they are everywhere- A mess, prakruthi(inside the kitchen!) , teaboard and even inside the faculty club shop. lots of people feed them and then these cats start to jump on tables and demand food!

Anonymous said...

Let me give you one practical solution. Do you know how to kill Rats? Use the same technique. prepare some food with poison and distribute over the campus and next day it will be gone.

Anonymous said...

Please don't kill cats. The Internet will get behind you.

Anonymous said...

i am not from iisc, use of research papers...u r funny person

Anonymous said...

I agree with Sachin Shanbhag.
IIT Bombay has Leopard (entering from
Sanjay Gandhi Nat'l Park) and
crocodile (in Powai Lake) menace.
Get some leopards which naturally
eat dogs. The NGOs would say nothing
because leopards also have a right to
live and not to starve (i.e. not to
be treated cruelly).

Anonymous said...

Giridhar, aren't you a member of
the campus animal control committee ?
You sit on about 30 committees. So,
I say check the lists and you'll
find yourself there. If the current
chair is sleeping, just usurp his position
and start exporting leopards from IIT
Bombay.

Anonymous said...

There is no campus animal control committee in IISc. He is only in 30 committees? According to his website, he has 17 Ph.D students, which is updated. The committee list has not been updated !

Prof. Giridhar: Please tell us the exact number of committees you are on. Otherwise, we will ask more stray dogs to follow you.

Anonymous said...

If the IISc can have professors, what's wrong with stray dogs ?

Anonymous said...

Prof. Giridhar said in a class about a story how the dogs in IISc could be reincarnation of professors in the next birth.

The incident is as follows: Apparently, one dog used to come and listen to many classes taught by a particular faculty. The young faculty got frustrated and took the dog away in his car for 30 kms and returned the next day to find the dog attending his class right on time again.

Anonymous said...

IIT Bombay campus seems to be the most dangerous IIT to live in with panthers and crocodiles frequently appearing inside it. Just recently, I learnt that a morning walker was killed by a crocodile behind the IITB Guest house. There have been similar instances of panther's attack too. Aren't they fencing the boundaries?

Anonymous said...

Seeing many random comments on this site, I request professor Giri to stop accepting anonymous comments.

Ram said...

I agree with the previous anon. Just because you are allowed to post comments anonymously, you should not make this forum into an Internet free for all. Kindly maintain the dignity of this forum. If you have any genuine questions against Prof. Madras, post it in a decent way and I am sure he will answer you.

Anonymous said...

So, could anything be done with stray dogs on IISc campus? There are many
stray Bhatnagar award winners too
on the campus. It would be extremely unfair if they get bitten.
Fortunately there are no
resident Nobel Laureates or Fields
Medal winners or Turin award winners.
Then it'd have been more undesirable.
With apologies to IISc's
resident and able Bhatnagar awardees,
and on a more serious note, the dog
control should start with garbage
disposal discipline followed by
some non-cruel method of removal of
the stray dogs.

Senthil@MBU said...

Sir, I got bite by a DOg yesterday night @9.30 PM in front of Raman Building, Physics Dept. Is I came to knw tat ter is a stray dog that has gone rabid and attacking passerbys. Is there a way to stop this menace. who should i contact in IISc admin section. I m on vaccination costing 400 x 6= 2400 Rs. Its not about the money but the mental pressure u r in when thinkiong of the trauma of Rabies bugs me !!!. 1 of my dept fellow was also bit 3 days ago in the same area. A pack of 2-4 dogs are seen in that Area.

Anonymous said...

You should inform the Registrar and student council by letter. Ask them to take action,

Anonymous said...

To Senthil:
Go see a good lawyer and get advice
on how you can sue the IISc.
While complaining to the Registrar,
drop a credible threat of a law suite.
You do have a right to a safe workplace
where you can go about without the fear
of being bitten by rabid dogs. The dog
in question belongs a pack and once
stray dogs form packs, they have the
instincts of wild animals and can no
longer be called community pets. In fact the same reason, wild life officials remove a leopard that has entered a town should govern removal of stray dogs that are forming packs.

Anonymous said...

While I was at IISc, I kept at least 6 quite heavy stones in my pocket. I used them quite freely on these dogs too. Perhaps they have become bolder these days due to my absence from the campus !!!