Mishandling of strays before the G-20 Summit
The G-20 Summit held in Delhi from 8th to 10th September 2023 was a testimony to the desire of powers-that-be, to present a sparkling clean image of our city for the visiting dignitaries. Khokha shops on main roads were asked to take this business elsewhere, beggars were removed, the view of slums was covered by UV nets and many strays were picked up from multiple areas to falsify reality and create an artificial image of prosperity. Some broad estimates suggest that the city lost business worth almost Rs. 4000 crores because of multiple actions of the governments.
The issue of Strays caught special attention. Several care givers and activists came together to protest against the way MCD decided to pick up these strays and put them in shelters.
What was frightening, anger inducing and sad was the way the entire intervention was designed and executed. On 3rd August, the MCD had come out with a circular regarding picking up of strays in preparation for the G-20 summit but hastily withdrew this notice after a serious outburst by animal activists. The care givers had approached the MCD with a proper plan to do the needful with complete collaboration and transparency with them in case such a decision was to be implemented.
Unfortunately, the government authorities turned a blind eye to these requests and started operating in a clandestine manner in end August – early September, picking up the strays late at night by sending vans and outsourced staff that had no training in humanely capturing the animals, in complete violation of their own notice as well as the laws. Care givers were personally witness to the treatment for some of the strays, including the terrible living conditions of some of the shelters.
Now that the G-20 is over, strays are being dropped back and there are enough reported instances of such drops happening in wrong areas, displacing strays from their natural habitat. The WhatsApp group of care givers across the city, formed to better manage the entire fiasco, is still busy, identifying such lost strays by sharing photographs, and trying to get them to their rightful places. One of the MCD authorities, quoted in the Print, called the action of picking up strays before the G-20 Summit a “necessary evil”.
In Panchshila Park, we took proactive action. Five strays who roam around on the outer ring road, an area that was targeted for these pickups, were taken by Isha Jain, a member of our Strays Management Group, on 30th August 2023 and safely placed in a private shelter in Noida. This action was timely as the demand for such shelters grew at an exponential pace subsequently. We spent over Rs. 20,000 in this preventive, taken from our kitty created with generous contributions of residents for overall management of strays. A few residents also sent in their contributions the moment they heard about it. These strays are now back, safe and happy.
The entire incident leaves many unanswered questions. The state of MCD’s Veterinary Department is pathetic. Just 1% of the city’s budget has been allocated toward this department, which is ill equipped to handle matters on a planned and preventive basis, responding only to complaints or directives from the top. The refusal to collaborate with RWAs and residents on the ground, perhaps because of a fear and punishment driven psyche, made a hash out of this project.
We hope that MCD and the Central and Delhi Governments will take responsibility for this fiasco and create a systemic approach to managing strays in the city. We expect them to build proper Standard Operating Procedures that create collaborative and transparent working in case there is a necessity to replicate such a pickup situation.
