Anand Niketan a posh colony of South Delhi has put sign boards in almost all its parks which says pets and dogs not allowed.
As per the Animal Welfare Board of India dogs be it pet dogs or stray dogs cannot be stopped from entering the parks. No one has the authority to prohibit dogs from entering the parks. But in recent years in the name of swachhta (cleanliness) almost all the RWAs (resident welfare association) have come out with such boards.
Our honourable Prime Minister has started a very good initiative of cleaning the country. The campaign says 'Swachh Bharat Swasth Bharat' which literally means 'clean India healthy India'.
Now the so called responsible people in the RWA are concerned a lot about the cleanliness and health of their people but they are totally forgetting that their is a very small section of the voiceless souls also inhabiting their colonies of which some have homes and some do not who also have a right to good health. Park is no one's property and when it comes to public parks such boards should never be allowed. They not only give wrong information but also give negative signals about dogs. As if it is a very dirty creature who will harm the environment and infect it by its presence.
The colony may have reserved parks for pet dogs but what about the stray dogs? They have their own area and if it happens to be a dog residing near or in the park then where will he or she go?
Do people in India know about stray dog law which says that they cannot be removed from their birth place. Anyone indulging in such an act shall be punished.
Being a posh colony and having very few stray dogs who are well kept outside by few magnanimous residents it seems no one opposed to such boards.
But what does such boards reflect about India and the Indian mentality :
1 Dogs are considered an animal and not man's best friend even by people who are rich and powerful
2 Ignorance about stray dog laws amongst the richest people residing in the posh colony of the capital city of India so you can well imagine what kind of awareness there must be about dog laws among the common man of India
3 Pet keeping is almost negligible.in India. You can imagine if there were good number of pet owners residing in Anand Niketan would they have allowed to put such unsympathetic and insensitive boards?
The Environment Ministry and the Animal Welfare Board of India please get these boards removed immediately. Already people in India have a negative mindset towards dogs why make it worse by encouraging such boards.
The AWBI should direct the Municipal Corporation to send circulars to all the RWAs not to put up such boards in public areas especially parks.
Our Prime Minister has asked us to make India clean. Cleanliness is not only confined to the parks. So why penalise the dogs in the name of cleanliness?
The stray dogs can never be stopped from entering any park. It is their birth right but yes we have a right to control their population.
The pet dogs too also cannot be stopped from entering the parks but yes their owners may be requested to walk their dog without making the parks dirty. They may be asked to scoop their poop. For that either litter bins may be installed or they may get their own bags to collect poop.