Street dogs inside Freedom Park pose threat to protesters and walkers

BENGALURU: Cases of attacks by street dog attacks happen almost every day in the city and due to this, people are already anxious. Amid this, the menace of stray dogs has surfaced at Freedom Park, one of the city’s main parks.

Any protest takes place at Freedom Park, located in the heart of the city. It is not just a protest site but also a heritage jail site and hundreds of people visit it daily. People also come here for morning and evening walks. But now, various problems have emerged in this Freedom Park.

As the welding of the park’s inner fence is broken, all the dogs from around Majestic area have gathered in Freedom Park. As a result, there are more than 40 street dogs in Freedom Park, and they are reportedly attacking walkers and tourists who come to visit. In addition, two students were recently attacked, said Gandasi Sadananda Swamy, president of the Save Freedom Park Protest Committee.

“This place is spread over 22 acres and was converted into a park after the central jail was shifted out. A few months ago, about Rs 5-6 crore was sanctioned for development works inside the park and shoddy work was done. A lot of people come for walks in the mornings and evenings, but there is water stagnating on the walking track. For the last 14 years, i have been president of the the committee, but never seen such substandard work. Action should be taken against those responsible”, he added.

Moreover, the walking path being built by GBA in the park at a cost of crores of rupees has been left half-done, and rainwater is stagnating everywhere in the park. This makes walking difficult, and people are struggling to cross this rainwater. Also, as soon as night falls, the entire park is plunged into darkness with no lighting system, and with the dog menace on top of that, walkers are expressing outrage.

People feel that GBA should shift the street dogs from the park as soon as possible and pointed out that if such is the situation at a major place and protest spot in Bengaluru, how other places could be. “We come for walks daily, but the menace of stray dogs has increased. The authorities should do something about it. Children also come here and action should be taken to ensure their safety”, said Shilpa, a regular walker.

“The washrooms are blocked and visitors can’t use them. Sometimes, it is scary to walk here due to the stray dog menace”, said her husband Shivakumar.