Just few days back the North East Delhi witnessed communal riots where many lives were lost and many got injured.
Was it the result of poor and weak governance or was it an outcome of a sick political agenda?
Or was it both?
In Delhi last year many public parks which were earlier being looked after by the MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) were handed over to the RWAs. It seems the Delhi Government is also paying them money for the maintenance of the parks.
Thereafter, a few RWAs came out with boards which banned entry of dogs in the parks. This is not permissable as per the animal welfare laws but did the RWAs knew the dog laws? Or were they given any guidelines regarding dogs laws?
Recently we saw that in a DDA colony in East Delhi garbage bins which were installed in the parks by the MCD were being used by the residents to throw their home garbage ( diapers and food waste). And when the dogs picked them and threw them around people blamed the dogs for the mess created.
As the parks were being maintained by the RWA so they could have strictly told their residents not to throw home garbage in the park bins but they didnt do that. Instead they chose to remove the bins from the parks.
The picture in this post shows that the bins have been removed. The RWA removed the bins on Saturday (7th March 2020).
The RWA removed the bins because they didn't have the guts to tell their residents that they are not suppose to throw home garbage in the park bins.
This is because they will again contest elections after a year and it will be the same residents who will be voting for them.
How can they annoy their residents?
They can blame the dogs for creating the mess and making their parks and streets dirty but they can't accuse their own people who are the actual culprits because they are their valuable voters.
Let's see some other weaknesses in this system.
The MCD is a government body and the law enforcement agency as well. It has nothing to do with vote bank. It is run by commissioners and various govt officials it's a different matter that they do face political interfearence.
If the parks are managed by the MCD which it was already doing then they would have put boards saying that the bins are not meant for home garbage and they would have never removed the bins.
Also MCD monitors the trees and benches in the parks. Once everything is entrusted with the RWA then who will supervise and monitor the trees?
What if they are cut down? Who will monitor that?
Are our RWAs so well informed and righteous? Should they be given so much of autonomy?
There should definitely be some monitoring by the government agency.
The recent decision of the East Delhi Municipal Corporation to make dog shelters for stray dogs has not been received well by the caregivers of Delhi especially the East Delhi residents. There is.a lot of anger and resistance against this decision.
The politicians have very well managed to create a divide and a man-man conflict between caregivers and dog haters.
It is the East Delhi councillors who are responsible for this decision.
The politicians take decisions and the government officials implement them.
They have taken a decision which is infeasible, unlawful and regressive.
What made them take this decision?
Is it vote bank?
Let's see what the minority voters are going through on a daily basis which these councillors have turned a blind eye to.
Today on 9th March 2020. A caregiver Vibha ( M- 9810737537) sent a message on animal welfare group. She is a resident of Vikaspuri Delhi and she is facing opposition and threat in feeding her dogs. This is what she wrote;
"I'm Vibha kapoor resident of flat no. 56,laxmi Vihar appts. H-3, vikaspuri. People are harrasing me as I feed strays outside the appts. Today one person is calling a gang to kill my dogs."
In another incident a resident of Bahadurgarhh (Shalu- 7027345098) is also facing opposition and threat in feeding her dogs. This is what she wrote:
"Urgent advice/help needed
Myself shalu feeder and rescuer from Dayanand nager bahadurgarh harayana
I live in rent with my mother.. I m Adcitied of feeding stray dogs... I use to live in a street from 6 years.. I feed them in a open plot where I also made a shed from waste materials...recently I hav sifted to other street. Today evening when I went to feed my stray then few idiot people said me not to feed here when I asked reason behind it they said that your dogs bark full night and jump over our car (which are park outside their house or that plot) and tear scooty/ auto seat cover...they also said that if next tym your dogs do this again then u hav to pay the damage...they are planning for relocating the kid also what can I do wht should I do????"
If the east delhi continues with it's decision to put dogs in shelters then very soon other parts of Delhi will also do the same and then the other states of India. This will be a very bad precedent.
Chief Ministers, Ministers, Members of Parliament and members of legislative assembly and corporations kindly think beyond vote banks. Because you may or may not come back after five years but the system you build will continue indefinitely.
Kindly strengthen the system and remove the loopholes from it. Do not destroy the system which already exists.
ABC is the only lawful, feasible, rational and humane solution to counter the stray dog overpopulation. Strengthen the system and remove the loopholes which exist in the system. Do not come with solutions which will only lead to more conflict and anarchy.