In a first-of-its-kind effort to reduce the aggression of stray dogs over unavailability of food in many areas of the city, the civic body has decided to feed the dogs. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has floated a one-year tender where contractors will have to feed stray dogs one meal a day at around 100 spots selected by the civic body, based on a lack of feeders and availability of food. Each such spot will be assigned a maximum of five stray dogs, the tender document says. This will add up to around 4,000 stray dogs a day. The population of stray dogs in the city is pegged at over 2.7 Lakh, as per a recent survey. The BBMP has estimated that it will cost the civic body ₹2.88 crore a year. “We have been observing that one of the main reasons for aggression of stray dogs and increase in dog bite cases has been unavailability of food. Following a case, where a senior citizen was killed in a stray dog attack in Jalahalli last year, we tried to create a community-led dog-feeding initiative. But it did not work very well. So, the civic body has taken up this initiative. We will study its impact, whether it will reduce dog bite cases around the feeding spots,” said Suralkar Vikas Kishor, Special Commissioner (Health), BBMP. Rice, chicken, vegetables The tender document available with The Hindu shows that these dogs will be fed with cooked rice, chicken, vegetables, oil, salt, and turmeric. Each dog has to be fed at least 600 grams of cooked food with about 750 kcal, along with water before 11 a.m. everyday, it said. Contractors have to cook the food in a centralised kitchen in each zone using certified raw materials, transport it in their own vehicles that will be fitted with GPS tracking devices. Dogs should be fed in reusable utensils, which need to be cleaned everyday after the feed. Contractors have to send geo-tagged photographic evidence of the feed everyday. The feeding spots, 100 a zone, will be identified by the Zonal Assistant Director, Animal Husbandry, based on the availability of dogs and their struggle to find food in the area.