Bengaluru: Dogs in and around Domlur have been deprived of their freedom to take a stroll and play around in a park of their own, as the canine park on Domlur Main Road has been temporarily closed from the last few weeks.
The Domlur dog park, located a few metres away from the skywalk, has also been demolished temporarily.
“The park for canines was not in a perfect shape for the pets and the pets’ parents to use. There was no proper pathway for the dogs and the parents to walk along. Moreover, the soil in the park was not firm and was in a state where it could have collapsed due to the slant road” said BBMP site engineer Mohammed Azar.
Area Corporator Lakshminarayan says “This approximately 7,000 square feet land, which belongs to BBMP, was an unused land for the last few years but had been an illegal dumping ground.
However, as the land wasn’t being put to use since the last one year, it was an idea that residents came up with to use the land for the pets (dogs) and its parents to spend some quality time.”
“The park was maintained by the residents and pet parents. But, it was unsafe with irregular level of land along with no pathways and no proper compounds. So, we decided to demolish and rebuild the park with all facilities including seating for pet parents, toys, shelter, drinking water, poop scoopers, poop pits and many more to make the park fully equipped for the pets,” he added.
The renovation process of the dog park is likely to take two more months that includes widening of the park area which will be between 7,000 to 10,000 square feet at a cost of Rs 20 lakh. The upgradation work includes laying of walking pathways, raised walls all around the park area up to 8 feet for the pets so that the dogs don’t jump out on to the road and a strong foundation base leveling the ground.
Ms Priya Chetty Rajagopal, Trustee, CJ Memorial Trust and founder of Cubbon Park Canines said that, “The initiative of coming up with canine parks in which there are a lot of dog owners in the city by giving them (Owners and dogs) a little breathing space is welcome as canines also feel like they are the part of the city. We have also come up with a petition to the government requesting them to come with canine-friendly parks in the city”.
