Mumbai: New shelters for stray animals in Bandra, Khar and Santacruz

A moveable cage that can accommodate two to three dogs at a time

Monsoon shelters for stray dogs are being established in Bandra, Khar and Santacruz. These shelters will provide a dry resting place for not only stray dogs but also cats struggling to find refuge during the monsoon season. These shelters will be moveable cages and can accommodate two to three dogs at one time. Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) leader Rahul Kanal of the I Love Mumbai Foundation said, "As a pet parent, I understand the difficulty our four-legged companions face in finding dry resting spaces during the monsoon.

This inspired us to set up small shelters for these animals in Bandra, Khar, and Santacruz. We are fully responsible for maintaining hygiene and sanitation around these shelters and have ensured they are not placed near residential structures without the necessary no-objection certificates from the concerned citizens and buildings. I am grateful to MLA Ashish Shelar-ji and all the animal lovers who are supporting this initiative."

For now, shelters will be established at 20 locations, beginning with Bandra, Khar, and Santacruz - areas where residential societies are unaffected. These locations have been selected considering the stray dog population in the vicinity.

Animal welfare activist Ankit Vyas, welcomed the move, "It's a good initiative. Strays suffer the most during the monsoon season. When they seek shelter in society compounds or car parking areas, they are often beaten and chased out, forcing them to hide under parked cars on roads, which can sometimes lead to accidents. I think this initiative will help the strays."

Advocate Pawan Sharma, founder of the NGO Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare, and member of the Committee to Monitor Animal Welfare Laws in Maharashtra, appointed by the Bombay High Court and Maharashtra government, said, "The community animals are here because of us as a society. They need our assistance, care and support with some love, affection, compassion and humane scientific management to peacefully coexist."

"This is an amazing initiative and will spread a positive message about coexistence and compassion which is the need of the hour. Where we usually read about animal cruelty this will be a very positive message in the city. If this is done across the city and the suburbs in collaboration with NGOs, BMC, animal caregivers and citizens, it will be a benchmark initiative that could be replicated in many other cities that face man-animal conflict," Sharma added.