Dogs Or Cats, Strays Or Pets, Hands That Heal Rescues Abandoned Animals, One Village At A Time

What were once buzzing villages filled with people has now become deserted, barren and unoccupied. Empty streets, broken-down houses, rubble, debris and silence are what marks the eight villages which have been mostly evacuated and reduced to debris to make way for the Navi Mumbai airport in Maharashtra.

Humans evacuated from site

The City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO), which is overseeing the mammoth project, has successfully shifted most of the residents of the villages. Reportedly, once the evacuation is completed, more than 3,500 families comprising 21,000 people would have to relocate. CIDCO needs a total of 2,260 hectares for the airport project at Panvel and is offering a total compensation of Rs 526 crore for resettlement of the villagers and including financial aid to build new houses and rent allowance for 18 months as well.

While CIDCO has ensured a plan of action for those displaced, the animals of these villages have been left behind, perhaps even forgotten. The project has not only affected humans whose houses have been uprooted but so are the hundreds of animals like dogs, cats and cattle which are left to fend for themselves in these ghost-villages. Without humans to depend on, most of the strays and pets have been discovered by animal activists as being in a dire state.

Hands That Heal rescues animals

However, one Navi-Mumbai based NGO, Hands That Heal, has come forward to help these animals in need. Talking to The Logical Indian, Varsha Pillai, a volunteer with HTH said that the NGO first came to know about the plight of the animals in the villages through a Facebook post. After having informed Anamika Chaudhury, the NGO’s founder, a team of people accompanied by ambulances and food supplies started visiting the desolate villages.

What they saw was horrific! Scores of abandoned animals roaming the once-bustling streets of Ganeshpuri, one of the deserted hamlets in Panvel taluka. Pillai said, “We found dogs who were badly injured, litters of puppies who were malnourished and sick cats who needed immediate medical care.” Ever since then, teams of volunteers have made long visits to the site and rescued these animals, some of whom were pregnant as well. The team till now has rescued over 60 animals from only six of these villages, while two others are left.

Struggling with the rehabilitation process

However, HTH has been struggling with the rehabilitation process of so many rescues. Pillai, who herself takes care of over nine canines and said that the shelter does not have enough space to accommodate so many animals, let alone make space for the puppies which are yet to be born, additionally, giving adequate medical care and keeping up with the sterilization process of so many dogs and cats have become all too overwhelming for this quaint shelter home.

Talking to The Logical India, the NGO’s founder Anamika Chaudhury said that she already have rescues of her own which are housed at the shelter and the added pressure of so many others have kept her on her toes. Calls for help to other similar organisations have been proved to be ineffective so far. “We have only received Rs 70,000 in donations so far and that amount is only going to sustain the rescues for only a few days.” However, the NGO has received bags of animal food as well.

In a quest to find a multi-pronged solution to the problem, Pillai and a few others have been engaging in talks with the local municipal authorities to help set up an animal shelter for the rescues closer to a sterilization site. She said that response has been good so far, but more needs to be done to be able to help the animals in the long run as well.

The Logical Indian appreciated the efforts of the NGO as well as the team to try and make tremendous efforts to rescue the abandoned animals from the construction sites.

Also Read: Compassion At Work: This Kolkata Team Is Independently Working To Give Stray Dogs A Healthy Life