The University of Delhi which is one of the premier institutes of India has more than 80 constituent colleges which run various undergraduate courses. The colleges are scattered all around Delhi. Most of the colleges have dogs residing in their campus. But the dogs are neither fed nor cared for. They eat the canteen leftovers and often sleep empty stomach. Sometimes some kind hearted souls take pity on them and feed them. But that's again not on regular basis. The guards of the college are often instructed to shoo the dogs away. Many times they are beaten and kicked by staff and students. So in a nutshell the dogs in most of the campuses live a miserable life. And ofcourse they keep multiplying because the colleges just don't bother to get them sterilized. The administration totally relies on the municipality and we all know how well the municipal corporation has implemented the ABC programme........
The students of Motilal Nehru College and few other colleges like Lady Shriram College just couldn't turn a blind eye to this most insensitive and inhuman behaviour towards the man's best friend. Hence they started helping the dogs of their campus in their own way. There are other colleges like Hansraj and Sri Venkateswara where the staff is taking care of the dogs.
But at some point in time they have all faced some degree of opposition for feeding the dogs in the campus and many are still facing. Most of the time the opposition has come from the college administration and the teachers. This comes primarily because of ignorance of dog rules (2001) that dogs cannot be relocated and that they can only be sterilized and vaccinated and secondly because of negative attitude of people towards dogs. They consider stray dogs as rabid and wild.
Almost all college caregivers at some point have approached PFA (People for Animal) for help when they have faced opposition from the administration and the students of Motilal Nehru College have been no exception.
These students created a DESI club about two years back under project Parivartan. Project Parivartan was started under the aiges of Enactus India in the year 2014. DESI stands for Duty to Empathize, Sterilize and Immunize Stray dogs. They got all the dogs of their campus sterilized about six years back and ever since they are feeding the dogs and taking care of all their medical problems. Like most of the college caregivers, they too have been taking care of the college dogs single handedly without any support from the college administration. Ofcourse it is needless to say that the road for them was not easy at all. They too have faced their share of struggle. And whenever they faced opposition they approached PFA.
The situation in every college is more or less the same. Its quite a task for the caregivers to feed the dogs and take care of them. Hence, many students and staff even if they want to feed, they are hesitant and reluctant to feed the dogs.
To overcome this obstacle the students of various colleges have joined hands with PFA. They will be starting DESI club in their respective colleges where their primary motive will be to feed the dogs and get them sterilized and immunized. Apart from this they will also be creating public awareness about animal laws. And try to put an end to dog breeding and work towards stray dog adoption.
Lakshita (M- +918800117248) the president of Enactus, Motilal Nehru College told that they met the PFA founder Maneka Gandhi and talked to her about the Desi club (pic in the post). Mrs Gandhi during her meeting with the students not only motivated them to work for this wonderful cause but also gave them assurance that she will be right behind them constantly supporting them and helping them in giving their furry friends a life full of dignity and love. The following college students have joined hands with PFA to set up the DESI club in their respective colleges:
1 Miranda House
Ruby- 9811173048
2 Hansraj College
Vaibhav- +91 96750 29674
3 Aryabhatta college
Samriddhi- +91 94526 87013
4 Ramjas college
Saloni- +91 91153 47293
Yashi- +91 88402 46545
5 Shri Ram College of Commerce
Rubal- +91 70188 43350
Vishnu- +91 94890 31335
6 Kamla Nehru College
Karmita- +91 89540 86003
7 Bharati College
Anjali- +91 88002 32273
8 Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma
Neha- +91 95603 30754
This is indeed a good beginning and let's hope many more students of India start Desi club in their respective colleges and give their furry friends a secure life. A life worth living........