Patna: They ensure stray dogs don’t go hungry

Faryal Rumi & Archi Rani | TNN | Updated: Apr 8, 2020, 12:19 IST

Sanjay Agarwal make sure to feed the stray dogs in their locality and nearby areas

PATNA: When the streets are deserted and restaurants and roadside eateries closed, even the stray dogs are finding it difficult to survive during the lockdown period. But there are few Good Samaritans who are feeding hundreds of stray dogs in the city every day.
A family in the Exhibition Road area has been doing it since the beginning of the lockdown on March 25. Sharmila Agarwal (33) and her husband Sanjay Agarwal (41) make sure to feed the stray dogs in their locality and nearby areas. “We have been feeding stray dogs for the last 25 years. But due to the lockdown, we have started feeding even more dogs as their condition has become worse. People are hardly seen on the streets and they have no leftover available from roadside eateries or even households. I prepare food and my husband distributes it to around 35-50 dogs every day,” said Sharmila.
She added: “We distribute chapatis, biscuits and rice to the furry creatures twice a day,” she added.
Sharmila has also inspired several members in her family to feed stray dogs. “Earlier they were quite dicey about feeding stray dogs as they thought it was not important. However, after seeing us doing this, my relatives have also started this practice,” she said.
Monu Ranjan (30), a physical education coach at National Institute of Technology, Patna, also makes it a point to pack some chapatis, rice, biscuits and other snacks to feed stray dogs in Gandhi Maidan, Bank Road, Police Lines, Exhibition Road and Frazer Road areas. He starts at 6pm and return home at 9.30pm.
“It is a small initiative to ensure that the stray dogs do not suffer from hunger due to the lockdown. I started it on March 19. I do this with the help of local police personnel by maintaining social distance,” he said on Tuesday.
Ranjan, a resident of Jagganpura, said he cooks food for 80 dogs and also pack food for 400 people living on the roadside. “I cook rice, chapatis, khichdi and sometimes biryani as well. But I avoid giving oily food to dogs as it impacts their fur. I want other people also to feed dogs and other stray animals in their localities because if we don’t help them, who will,” he said.