bengaluru last week environmentalist vijay nishanth spotted a little kite lying on the road side in jp nagar of south bengaluru under the scorching sun the bird was about to faint due to thirst and starvation he did his best to give it water and some food but it was too late if the number of distress calls the animal husbandry wing of the bruhat bengaluru mahanagara palike receives every day about 250 is any indication sweltering harsh weather seems to have taken a severe toll on animals and birds in the concrete jungle dr sriram incharge and deputy director animal husbandry wing of bbmp said rescue calls include birds dogs cats and other animals faint or take ill due to heat there are also cases of animals getting injured after meeting with accidents or fighting with each other birds getting entangled to kite thread etc animal activist suman r m said this summer is very harsh due to severe water shortage many lakes and water bodies in the city are either polluted or have dried up during a recent meeting of activists and environmentalists at cubbon park we found out that even the prime lung space has ran out of water bowls even the irrigated water to nurseries and plantations here dries up faster leaving no hope for birds and animals even the squirrels which have made trees in several neighbourhoods their home are facing the same problem he addedthough the scenario is grim the bbmp has no proper infrastructure rescue equipment or volunteers to help animals and birds and many of them ultimately succumb to ailments we are doing our best with the available volunteers and animal welfare ngos but for a vast city like bengaluru we need exclusive hospitals for animal care and specialists deployed there we are in the process of establishing such hospitals in each zone of the bbmp there is also a plan to procure dedicated ambulance for animals said dr sriram