Exactly a year back in the month of May 2019 the residential colony of Netaji Nagar, South Delhi went deserted with all their residents shifting to a new place. The reason was that the houses were to be demolished and in it's place high rise buildings were to be constructed. The occupants were all government employees and the houses were all government flats. The government took the decision to demolition the houses and build new ones in it's place.
But what the government overlooked were around 150 to 200 stray dogs, cats and monkeys which inhabited the area and were dependent on the residents for their food.
While the urban development ministry must have taken the decision to make new building it completely overlooked and turned a blind eye to the animals living in the area.
Ideally the environment ministery or the animal husbandry ministry or the Animal welfare board of India or the Delhi animal husbandryi should have intervened and made provisions for these animals but none came to their rescue.
It was Friendicoes an animal welfare NGO which came to the rescue of these animals. Since may 2019 it is feeding the stray dogs of Netaji Nagar daily.
There are plethora of bodies and ministries for animals in India but in reality it is these NGOs who actually come to the rescue of these helpless and vouceless souls. We have witnessed this during the lockdown too. Kindly go on the following link to read about how the govt which was responsible for the plight of stray animals of Netaji Nagar did nothing for them:
https://friendicoes.org/feeding-street-dogs-in-netaji-nagar/
Hindus in India are very keen on pilgrimages. There are many holy places in the state of Uttarakhand. This is a state which is covered with Himalayas and scenically very beautiful. The holy places are mostly on mountain tops so commuting to those places requires horses, and donkeys. Due to lockdown all pilgrimages have got cancelled and as a result the owners of horses and donkeys have abandoned their animals. These owners are not rich and their survival is on these pligramges alone. Hence, the abandoned animals are roaming dehydrated and malnourished.
Again it is an animal welfare NGO PFA (People for animals) which has intervened and took up the responsibility of rehabilitating the abandoned bovines. Due to the efforts of the former union minister and founder of PFA Maneka Gandhi the govt of Uttarakhand has sanctioned rupees 2.50 Crores for the animals. The Minister of Animal Husbandry of Uttarakhand Rekha Arya has also ensured that no animal shall stay hungry in the state during the lockdown period. For more details kindly go on the link below:
Sanjay Gandhi Animal Care Centre & Friendicoes are two NGOs in Delhi who keep the injured and sick animals in their shelter and give them free medical treatment.
There are other NGOs at the outskirts of Delhi like Sonadi, All Creatures Great and Small, Sophie Memorial Animal Relief Trust etc...who do not charge a penny for keeping disabled and abandoned animals in their shelter.
But they all must be having a tough time financially sustaining themselves as they all depend on donations. For some donations may be irregular and uncertain
With COVID 19 pandemic their situation must have worsened. Due to large number of dogs being abandoned and disabled their shelters must have become overcrowded.
If the animal laws were strictiy implemented in India then no dog would have been abandoned by it's owner, and no dog would have sustained injury due to human cruelty.
Hence, the NGOs would not have been so overburdened.
When will the govt bodies take up the responsibilities which they have been entrusted with of animal welfare?
There is nothing wrong in making bridges, roads, highways, buildings etc but what is bad is displacing and destroying the natural.flaura and fauna in the name of development.
It's time the animal welfare bodies ensured the safety and well-being of the animals who are adversely getting affected by such development.