Mumbai-based fashion designer blames Amritsar railway authority's laxity for death of her dog

AMRITSAR: A Mumbai-based fashion designer has blamed the Amritsar railway station officials for the death of her pet dog while traveling locked in a cage in the luggage compartment of Paschim Express on September 4.
Fashion designer Chand Chauhan has uploaded a post on her Facebook page informing that her, two-year-old, golden retriever dog Lesnar was made to travel in a cage along with her another, five-year-old, Lhasa Apso pet dog Sparkle in the luggage compartment of Paschim Express from Amritsar to Bandra.

She said in the complaint that her parents were travelling in AC 1st class in Paschim Express from Amritsar to Bandra, Mumbai on Sept 4, 2019. Her father had produced veterinarian’s fitness letter of pet dogs and had applied to the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), Ferozpur and chief booking supervisor requesting them to allot 2/4 seater coupe so that pets could travel along with her parents in the AC coach. But a couple of minutes before scheduled departure of the train, the railway officials denied allotment of coupe and told that both the pets had to travel in a single cage in the luggage compartment.

(Picture credit- Facebook)
“During the journey, they checked on the pets multiple times and feed them. Last time, when they checked at Delhi both were fine. However, the next morning when father went to feed them at Vadodara, he found Sparkle dead,” she said.
She alleged that her pet had lost his life because of the gross insensitivity demonstrated by the officials at the Amritsar railway station and have demanded from the government to have a policy so that pets and their owners are not harassed while traveling in the trains.
While expressing sympathy for the loss of the pet, Ferozpur DRM Rajesh Aggarwal said on Monday, “Dogs are always booked on ticket and it is the sole responsibility of the owner to take care of their pets, provide eatables and water during journey and owner is also responsible for transshipment,” he said.
Aggarwal added that the Ferozpur Division didn’t have quota for allotment of coupe in Paschim Express.“Party itself gave undertaking that they will be responsible for loading, unloading, food and water supply,” he said.