While the big cities like Delhi and Mumbai are becoming a nightmare for street dogs and their caregivers, small cities like Indore have taken the lead in making their cities dog friendly. Thanks to the collective efforts of the NGO PFA, the municipal corporation and individual caregivers.
In cities like Delhi and Mumbai there is no dearth of caregivers and NGOs but what is lacking is the support of the administration especially the Municipal corporation. And the result is right in front of all of us. Man- dog conflict and Man-Man conflict and it is only increasing day by day.
Lockdown created havoc on street animals especially the dogs and this was across the whole of India. Indore was definitely no exception and during the same time in the month of April there was a spike in the dog bite cases and dog attacks on humans in the city of Indore. The reason for this was the hungry dogs.
But the good part was that instead of leaving the dogs to die of starvation or getting them relocated or killed which generally the corporation indulges in, it took a more humane and legally correct solution. It decided to feed them. Thank God for the good advices and efforts of the NGO PFA (People for Animals) and other caregivers like Vandana Jain who run the campaign Dogitization, the Corporation started feeding the dogs. And in barely two months time the remarkable result is right in front of all of us. According to the PFA Head Priyanshu Jain the dog bites reported in the month of April was around 300 and now in barely two months time it has come down to 30.
It wouldn't be wrong to say that those 30 too could have been easily avoided. People in India just don't know how to behave kindly with dogs. They are all the time provoking them by kicking them, abusing them and shooing them away with shoes, sticks and stones. And when the dog bites them they say that the dog is rabid and wild.
The Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar too has tweeted and appreciated the combined efforts taken by PFA Indore, the municipal corporation and the volunteers of Indore who have come forward to provide food to the hungry animals and kept them alive. Indore is not only a role model for other cities but also a good case study. It has shown how dogs are not a threat to the society. How by providing food and water and a bit of kindness we can reduce the incidence of dog bites. That all those who bite are not rabid dogs. It has definitely succeeded in busting this terrible myth that all stray dogs in India are rabid and wild.
Kindly go on the following link to read the tweet made by the Environment Minister and the video of the report on which he has made the tweet:
https://twitter.com/prakashjavdekar/status/1271837776183324673?s=21
Well, we are happy for the Indore dogs but there are millions of dogs in other parts of India including Delhi and Mumbai who are unhappy and face cruelty on a daily basis. The caregivers are suffering and the law does not take its course. The municipal corporations of places of Panipat and Varanasi are flouting all dog rules by relocating them and killing them. There are cities and towns in India where no ABC programmes are being implemented and the dogs are being killed or relocated in the name of Swachhta, rabies and now Covid 19.
There seems to be a lack of political will to address this burning problem as none of the state Chief Ministers or for that matter none of the ministers of various animal welfare departments both at the centre and state have taken any concrete steps to implement the ABC programme and to bust the myths attached Indian stray dogs. There are no awareness campaigns for the ABC programme by the corporation. And without people's participation as has been shown by the people of Indore this stray dog problem can never get addressed in a humane and legal manner.
When all govt machinery starts failing and the respective ministers too turn a blind eye then the citizens of a country have no other option but to make an appeal to the Prime Minister. This is exactly what caregivers are doing now. They are tweeting and writing letters to the Prime Minister of India.
The Prime Minister of India started a wonderful initiative which is called 'Man Ki Baat' which encourages the common man of India to call him up and tell him his hearts desire. What is in his mind?
This is a very innovative way to know the pulse of the citizens. What they think, what they like and what they don't.
This way the PM would know exactly what his countrymen think about him and if the decisions taken by him are hailed or criticised by his people.
Vandana Jain who runs the Dogitization campaign in Indore has requested all caregivers of India to share there problems and the cruelty which the man',s best friend is facing in India with the Indian PM in 'Man Ki Baat' (pic in the post)
Kindly go on the link and read her appeal.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=3265860026778238&id=1758090254221897
It's sad that now the Prime Minister Narendra Modi is being approached for something which could have been easily tackled by the corporation and the ministers had they taken this issue more seriously and implemented the ABC programme with full honesty and with people's participation.