‘Man’s Best Friends’ on Streets get Chicken Biriyani Treat from Four Youth during Lockdown
Mangaluru: Amid the world’s strictest lockdown, people who feed stray dogs are now deemed essential, and when stray animals are going hungry, Good Samaritans are venturing outside during the pandemic to feed them- and that’s nice to note. And here we have four youth among the animal lovers looking after free-roaming dogs, many of which can’t find food during the world’s largest lockdown to stop the spread of COVID-19. With shops and restaurants shuttered from March 22 until at least May 18, the canines’ main source of sustenance—garbage scraps—is gone. And during such situation, feeding “companion and stray animals is an essential service, and without that aid from Good Samaritans and Animal lovers , large numbers of animals would “suffer and die.”
Seen in photo L-R : Gagan Ganiga, Nishal Poojary, Pavan Ganiga and Vinyas Kumar Shetty
Moving forward on a serious note, all these stray dogs during this lockdown may be wondering what happened to all the food that they used get served in front of the restaurants, mobile canteens, meat and chicken stalls etc. The situation is very pathetic looking at the condition of these stray dogs who have not eaten food for the last few days- and you could make out from their eyes and faces. On a lighter side, these canines look “more relaxed” and “sprawled all over the streets, because for once, there are no cars honking at them to move. While humans have been finding myriad ways to deal with the lock down, stray animals have ended up becoming an unforeseen casualty of the lock down.
Thousands of stray dogs in our city depend on daily markets, restaurants and local good Samaritans who feed strays. But with coronavirus sending people into isolation and public establishments shutting down, strays have a hard time finding food. Apart from these stray animals, even destitute and beggars are starving with no one serving them, since restaurants and other eateries are closed. Pandemic or no, feeding hungry stray animals is not accepted by everyone, where animal lovers have been harassed for feeding dogs- but that’s a different story. The crisis comes just as street dogs—which often are “indies,” an affectionate term for native Indian breeds—have experienced a popularity boost, with more people adopting them as pets in recent years. With coronavirus cases on the rise, some owners are deserting pets “simply because they don’t feel like it’s safe to have a dog anymore. There are, of course, people who just want to get rid of their dogs, and [take] advantage of this corona excuse.
And this is where the help of Animal Lovers is badly needed, and for that matter, we have these four youngsters on a mission to feed the stray dogs, no matter what criticism or backlash they face from non-animal lovers- but they are determined to show the community and the world, that they have accepted the gauntlet to make a difference and won’t give up until their mission is accomplished- a STRONG MISSION to feed the stray animals, especially stray dogs. Kudos to these four youth, namely- Vinyas Kumar Shetty- a Fitness Trainer at Zuesse Fitness Centre, Mangaluru; Nishal Poojary- pursuing his MBA at Mangalore University; Pavan Ganiga- student at SDM Business Management College, Mangaluru; and Gagan Ganiga- a small scale entrepreneur.
And the best part is that these youth are not feeding the stray dogs with rice and curry, but freshly prepared Chicken Biriyani- and I bet these strays might have been wagging their tails continuously with gratefulness to these generous four youngsters, for the BEST TREAT they got so far in their street life! And on a daily basis they feed nearly 400 days between the hours of 3 pm till 9.30 pm at night, in the areas of Talapady, Nethravati bridge area, Ullal, Uchila, Beeri, Someshwar, Deralakatte, Pilar, Madoor, and the surrounding areas.
Speaking to Team Mangalorean, Vinyas Shetty said, ” When we saw the stray dogs suffering with hunger as all the restaurants and eateries in the area being closed down during the lockdown, we thought we should come to their rescue, and not allow them to die of hunger. We are grateful to animal lover and activist Tauseef Ahmed who initially helped us with pedigree dog food, and for his valuable information on taking care of stray animals, and we are associated with #wefeed started by Tauseef. We figured out that while humans are able to approach their friends and even authorities, dogs have no other option but to suffer silently, so we four of us joined together to feed these hungry strays”.
“Four of us cook the biriyani at my house which is located in Sankolige and use up around 25 kilograms of rice to prepare the chicken biryani daily. We are thankful to the owner of SK Caterers in Thokkottu for providing his delivery van and utensils for the supply of food while chicken shops named- U P Aliyappa and Canara Chicken provide us the fresh chicken. Even though we use our own money for all these expenses, but lately, generous people have come forward in offering rice and other commodities for the preparation of food. Initially, I had shared the idea on social media and within days, people started showing their support towards the initiative. It feels great when these dogs anxiously wait for us, and start running towards us wagging their tails, when they see our vehicle coming. We also have a Instagram page named:’ wecare_aboutanimals’. People are most welcome to help us in our efforts in feeding these hungry strays, by calling me at 8660038161” added Vinyas.
And while these four young men are doing their part in feeding the strays, it would be a good gesture from other Mangaloreans to feed as many strays and beggars as possible in their areas and whenever possible to help the animals and the destitute survive. And you should know that Street dogs, cows, and birds can neither get nor give coronavirus to humans. However, in the event of a lock down, if they are not fed, many will die, creating another kind of a problem. There should many animal lovers in Mangaluru, and therefore, it is the need of the hour that at least you all come forward and feed these hungry four-legged, and also the beggars, if you come across.
Just like we humans need our daily essentials, the district administration should allot times for designated workers or volunteers to provide food and water to strays since it is also an “essential service”. They should also run awareness campaigns for the public to adopt feeding street animals in such kind of lock down. Law enforcement agencies may also be directed to see that animals do not suffer due to hunger during the COVID-19 lock-down. While world leaders, health experts and epidemiologists are doing their best to find a way to prevent or at least slow down the spread of the pandemic, it is important to remember the health and safety of animals that depend on humans for their survival.
Team Mangalorean kindly request our readers and their relatives and friends, to come forward and feed the stray animals, especially dogs, and beggars in your area, so that they wont suffer out of starvation. Your kind gesture will be very much appreciated. If these four young boys can do it, You too can – and YES, WE ALL CAN DO IT TO SAVE THESE ANIMALS FROM HUNGER & DEATH!
And if you want to help Vinyas and his Trio friends, you can do so by calling-8660038161