Imagine you are walking down a lane. You see one street dog. You either ignore her or feed her something -- and you walk on. A month later, you see not one but seven dogs on the same street -- the original one and her six puppies!

Dog populations can multiply every month, which is why Bangalore’s municipal corporation (BBMP) has a free Animal Birth Control (ABC) program in place. As part of the program, BBMP issues contracts to animal welfare agencies to ensure humane surgeries on dogs, as well as anti-rabies vaccinations for the safety of the community.

However, this program can be effective only there is a continuous ABC service in operation. The good work of six months can be lost by missing out on a single month of ABC.

The contract of my locality's ABC agency ended in early October this year, and BBMP has neither renewed it nor appointed another agency to take over. For every month of delay, the population will rise. It is no surprise that Bangalore's street dog population was 2.9 lakh at last count.

Please sign my petition asking BBMP to renew old contracts or issue new ones, two weeks before the old agency’s term ends in an area, to ensure the smooth, continuous functioning and handover of the ABC program. BBMP must also renew or issue new contracts for all expired ones on or before 30 November 2018.

Today, my area (West Zone) is affected -- covering 44 wards in six constituencies: Malleswaram, Rajaji Nagar, Vijaya Nagar, Mahalakshmi Layout, Gandhi Nagar and Chamarajpet. Tomorrow, your locality could be left without an ABC program.

Last year, with re-zoning and fresh contracts being issued, citizens were left without ABC in some areas for several months. This burgeoning population is a recipe for disaster -- dog migration, more fights, more bites. If we want all this to stop, we need to act SOON and contain the numbers.

Please sign and share my petition. Together, we and BBMP can work towards a smooth ABC service and reduce the man-animal conflict.