On 19th March 2020 in two separate incidents, the caregivers were harassed by the residents of their colony for feeding the dogs.
Sneha ( M-9999XXXXXX) a young lady in her twenties and a lawyer by profession is a resident of Mayur Vihar Phase 2, pocket E and takes care of 14 dogs in her area. There are 6 dogs who are 4 to 5 months old and 3 pups who are 2 months old. The rest are all adults and sterilized. As a responsible resident, Sneha has not only taken care of their vaccination and feeding but also ensured that once they are more than six months old they are sterilized. Just last week she got five dogs sterilized from Gazipur Sterilization centre.
But she is neither thanked by her RWA nor the neighbours for her good deeds. This is nothing new for any caregiver in India. They are all doing a thankless job. Infact they are abused and ridiculed for their efforts.
On 19th evening she was asked by her neighbours (Malhotras) not to feed the dogs especially the six pups who are 4 to 5 months old just because they bark and poop on the streets. They asked her to put them in her car and dump them at some othe place and if she doesn’t then they will (the pic in this post is of those six pups).
When she opposed them and told them that it is illegal they started fighting with her and warned her that if the dogs are seen again on their streets then they will pour hot water on them. There was another caregiver Anita too who witnessed all this and tried to put sense into them. But nothing made any sense to them. They have no fear of law.
In another incident Anjali (M- 783xxxxxx) a caregiver of pocket C, Mayur Vihar phase 2, saw her dogs being beaten up by a middle-aged man and his grown-up son right in front of her when she went to feed them at night. Anjali goes to feed the dogs at night because the neighbours ask her not to feed the dogs. At night most if the people are at home and the streets are deserted. But this man and his son are ruthless people who not even stop from passing lewd comments on Anjali when she goes out to feed the dogs. They do it deliberately to discourage her from feeding the dogs. This is the same man who had broken the shed (home) built by caregivers in a public park for new born pups and their mother Julie to keep them safe from cold and rain in the month of January.
The harrowing story of Julie the dog and her caregivers Anjali and Mahesh was posted on 29 th January 2020.
Anjali’s mental harassment has still not stopped. She got Julie sterilized just few days back from Gazipur. Julie also has gone through a hell. And such human monsters are only making her life worse and provoking her to bite by beating her and her pups.
Is India in the 21st century and is it civilized? There is complete jungle Raj in it’s capital city. Just what kind of capital is this where neither women are safe nor the animals
Dog haters are openly flouting laws and the authorities have turned a blind eye to it.
The EDMC only comes out with horrible rabies posters that too ones which give misleading and incomplete information about rabies. They have put up rabies posters in the colonies where both Sneha and Anjali are staying.
How has these posters helped the stray dogs or their caregivers? Instead, it has only led to more conflicts and harassments.
The Municipal. Corporations should have ideally put up posters telling the residents of Delhi about the ABC programme and the dog laws that relocation and beating the dogs or any form of cruelty towards them is an offence.
Is the corporation getting some kind of sadistic pleasure from the sufferings of the helpless caregivers and the voiceless dogs?
The MCD has failed both the caregivers and the dogs.
It’s time that the AWBI and the Delhi Chief Minister intervene and take things in their hands and reinstate law and order in this jungle Raj.
Protect the feeders and the dogs who are constantly living in fear.