A few months ago, one had to hold one’s breath and watch one’s step as one walked down this street in the East Bengaluru locality of 1st Stage Domlur. Everyone wanted this land to be cleaned up, as over the years it had turned into a dump yard.
That’s when residents of Domlur and members of the ‘Ugly Indian’, an anonymous online group, stepped in and decided to get their hands dirty. They wanted to give the locals two reasons to rejoice – so, they cleaned up the dump yard and converted it into one of the few open dog parks in the city.
In a city where public spaces are shrinking by the day, this dog park in Domlur has already become popular. Not only the residents of Domlur, people from across the city are also making their way to the park.
A Long, Hard Task
According to ‘The Ugly Indian’, the online volunteer community which gives facelifts to dirty public spaces, it took them three months to fix the dump yard.
The first part was cleaning it, and more than 60 volunteers cleaned the vacant land, adjacent road, and painted the walls.
Then came the hard task. The volunteers and hired labourers began combing through 5,000 square feet of land, removing pieces of glass, sharp stones, and thorns. Protruding branches of trees were removed and the fence fixed, The Ugly Indian explained in a Facebook post.
Once a gate was put up, dog lovers of Domlur took over. A kennel, play area with tyres, and dog benches, among others, were installed in the park.
Transformation
Poop Pit for Responsible Dog Lovers
The park has several rules like people can’t enter the park without being accompanied by a canine and all dogs must be vaccinated. However, the most important rule is that all litter goes to the poop pit.
“One of the biggest problem people have raised against dog lovers is that many let their dogs poop on the streets and don’t clean up. But here, there is a designated poop pit, where litter is deposited and turned to compost,” said Roshini Davis, one of the visitors at the park.
Need for More
Priya Chetty-Rajagopal, founder of The Cubbon Park Canines, said that dog parks like Domlur are the way forward. She said:
Apart from the dog park in Cubbon Park, there are not many public parks for dogs in the city. Yes, there are several places where you can pay and avail services for your dog, but we need more public dog parks in our neighbourhood.
The park is currently open only on weekends, but residents want it to remain open throughout the week. Domlur Dog Park Association said they are in the second phase of development, when more amenities will be added to the park.
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