Kathmandu: As Nepal’s capital descended into chaos last week, it was not just the people who were affected by the spiralling violence. Stray dogs and puppies were left to fend for themselves, with many of them unable to find food as life came to a standstill.
Outside the Singha Durbar complex, which faced brunt of the ire of the protesters, a litter of puppies, numbering about half a dozen, were seen venturing out cautiously. Some of these puppies and dogs living in and around the general administrative building just adjacent to the main gate are said to have hid under cement slabs.
Many of these strays are so scared that they don’t come out even as the city slowly returns to normalcy. It is only when animal lovers arrived on a feeding vehicle arrives that they come out running looking for food. Given that these pawed creatures were left starving in the violence-affected areas of the Kathmandu Valley, animal feeders have started operating ambulances to feeding them for the past four days.
Sneha Shrestha, an animal lover and a dog feeder, is feeding more than 1,000 dogs everyday. The food served is a mix of rice, dog food, soya chunks, tofu and pumpkin. As soon as Sneha’s vehicle and other ambulances arrive at different locations, the dogs gather to have their share of meal.
“We did not know such a thing would happen. Since 2014, we have been working on the Animal Welfare Act. The draft was already tabled, but this (protests and violence) happened,” Sneha said.
The army, she said, also cooperates with her team for helping the strays.
ThePrint’s Manisha Mondal brings pictures from the streets of Kathmandu.
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ThePrint is at the forefront of the pro-stray dog lobby. It is due to the connections, social networks and public pressure brought on the Supreme Court by the likes of ThePrint that the judges had to backtrack and water down the earlier order.
This just compounded the misery of the common man. Neither can he keep his family safe and secure due to the stray dog menace nor can he expect any action from the municipal authorities. His children are the most vulnerable ones to stray dog maulings and all he can do is helplessly watch.
The elites of Indian society have decided that the life of a stray dog is way more precious than that of the common man or his children. And they have forced the Supreme Court to bow down to their wishes.