22 January,2022 07:53 AM IST | Mumbai | Shirish Vaktania
Senior PI Sudhir Kudalkar (left) with Vinayak Varghade at the launch of the ambulance service on Friday
Animals deserve medical care the way humans do. With this philosophy, a constable from Borivli has gone beyond the call of his duty to start a free ambulance service to help injured animals in his area. Vinayak Varghade, 47, from MHB police station said he and his son will manage the service, which was launched on Friday.
Varghade lives with his wife Purti and Sai at Borivali West. The family feeds at least 150 dogs and several cats daily. He said they spend more than Rs 30,000 a month on animal food. He said his ambulance will help animals at Borivli, Dahisar and Kandivli.
"We have been feeding strays for the past seven years. I started this ambulance service as I have had bad experiences trying to take injured animals to hospitals. Many a time, NGOs do not help. Sometimes they send an ambulance after 6-8 hours. Due to this delay, a lot of injured animals do not get the first aid on time and die. Animals also have the right to treatment."
The constable said he was encouraged to take the plunge after Senior PI Sudhir Kudalkar took charge of the MHB police station recently. Kudalkar has created a WhatsApp group of advocates and animal lovers who respond to animal cruelty cases in the city. "I shared my idea with Kudalkar sir and he inspired me to start the ambulance service."
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Varghade said his best friend helped him arrange the money for a second-hand van. "This ambulance will be driven by me and my son Sai."
Kudalkar said he runs a PAL (pet owners and animal lovers) group and Varghade is also a member of it. "If we come across an injured animal, we raise funds through the group that has more than 3,000 members from across the city. I make sure the money raised is not misused."
Kudalkar said he shares the bills with the good Samaritans who chip in for their cause. "This ambulance is from the police department and it will be used to save animal lives. If Varghade needs funds to meet the expenses, I will raise it through my PAL group."
150
No. of dogs fed by Varghade's family daily
Rs 30,000
Amount spent by the cop every month on animals
