Man vs Strays: Humans find themselves on both sides of a raging battle

Zahra Ruhani an animal rights activist feeds stray dogs at Lohra Agadi Nagar Yari Road PicSAMEERacircAcircu00c2u0080Acircu00c2u0088MARKANDEOn March 20 when Vikhroli resident Danielle Singh and her 71yearold mother stepped out of home at midnight to feed the stray dogs in Kannamavar Nagar 2 it started out like just another day It was a routine they had been following for the last 17 years However a few metres down the road they felt a pair of eyes following them We realised that a man was watching us from a distance We ignored it because itrsquos normal for people to stop and watch as we feed the dogs As we turned into a lane he came towards us and caught me by my hair and began slapping me she says When Daniellersquos mother tried to intervene the man allegedly pushed her to the groundDue to the assault Singh has lost her hearing in one ear and suffers from nerve spasms It took six days to get an FIR registered That night on reaching the police station the officer in charge only took a noncognisable NC complaint and said you may leave No FIR was registered and no medical test was conducted despite the entire incident being narrated she writes in her Facebook post Incidentally this is the third such attack on Singh in a span of a year while she was on her rounds to feed strays in the vicinity Largely selffinanced the feeder community in the city has often come under attack for their perceived acts of kindness Till now it was largely verbal but when the situation takes a violent turn thatrsquos when you see the red flags says Singh who now goes on her rounds with a rod in handRecently at Mahalaxmi Temple Chanchal Shah was allegedly attacked after temple authorities were informed that she was feeding the strays meat within the premises The authorities however refute the allegations PicSuresh KarkeraAccording to the Indian Constitution Article 51Ag it is the fundamental duty of every citizen of India to have compassion for all living creatures However with rising cases of violence against animals and harassment to feeders the Animal Welfare Board of India started issuing ID cards in 2014 to protect their rights In 2015 the Delhi High Court issued a ruling that no individual can be stopped from a feeding a stray dog However it adds that they will be fed in order to confine them to the localities areas that they belong to It has also instructed housing societies to give designated spots for feeding But in the absence of such laws in Mumbai the problem is mired in ambiguityIn the last one year Vikhroli resident Daniel Singh and her 71yearold mother Jenny have been attacked thrice while feeding strays Its only in the third case mdash which has left Daniel with temporary hearing loss and nerve spasms mdash that the cops register an FIR that too six days after the complaint PicSneha KharabeFeeding Solution or problemAt the Mahalaxmi temple Bhulabhai Desai Road itrsquos not uncommon to see dogs lounging on the premises Slums dot both sides of the temple so they often stray in Some devotees feed them but we have neither fed them nor harmed them says Sharad Chandra Padhye general manager of the temple So when Mahalaxmi resident Chanchal Shah who feeds the ten dogs in the temple approached them to sterilise the dogs they were happy about her taking the initiative However the situation took an ugly turn when Shah allegedly started feeding meat on the premises Itrsquos a temple and we need to ensure that religious sentiments arenrsquot hurt We have given her a designated area to feed the dogs he saysShah on the other hand feels the matter was an ego issue I approached the police because the security head started misbehaving with me when I would go to feed them I was assaulted by a lady guarddespite having obtained permission says Shah who moved to Mumbai two years ago from Bengaluru and takes care of 25 dogs in the area For now Shah has assigned another person to feed the dogs biscuits on the premisesAccording to NG Jayasimha the managing director of Humane Society of India in cases where the dog feeders are being harassed itrsquos almost a proxy for something else that is brewing Itrsquos often an intrapersonal war playing out he says For instance when his team was investigating a case of feeder problem at the Indian School of Business Hyderabad they found that the problem was mostly with the place where the dogs were being fed which came in the way of a path used as thoroughfare So the minute we assigned designated feeding spots the problem came to an endAndheri resident Zahra Ruhani who has been feeding over 100 stray dogs and 50 cats in the western suburbs for the last 15 years feels feeding animals in designated zones canrsquot happen overnight If the animal has been coming to a particular spot itrsquos not possible to train them to go elsewhere in a dayrsquos time But people want to see results instantly For Ruhani feeding dogs is more than a moral obligation If they are hungry they are going to make trouble Unless you feed them and befriend them you cannot catch feral animals for sterilisation mdash cats or dogsHowever for some the feeding can be problematic when it rakes up complaints from residents Sindhoo Bahia Gala the chairperson of a Versovabased housing society says she was forced to broach the issue with certain members when people started coming up to her I am not against dogs infact I love them But feeding them outside somebodyrsquos door and not cleaning up the mess left behind is unacceptable We have no problem if they feed the dog outside the compound in a designated placeSachin Patil DCP Zone VII who was instrumental in getting the FIR registered against the accused in Singhrsquos assault says the action taken against harassment in animalfeeding cases depends on the situation CCTVs are a big help because they help nail the culprit I have instructed my team to install them in those areas because sometimes people may backtrack or witnesses may change their statementsPic Nimesh DaveA dogged problem in developing countriesJayasimha feels dog feeding is an issue thats peculiar to developing countries Youll see the conflict more in developing countries A major factor here is garbage that is piled on streets Dogs are scavengers so if you dont have access to this kind of garbage such dogs wouldnrsquot exist Abroad you donrsquot find open meat shops and waste lying outside The survival of street dogs is directly propionate to the food available he says He however adds that because of insufficient caloric density in the garbage dogs often survive on rodentsIn terms of conflict he feels that the issue is not a black and white one where one person is at the right end of the spectrum and the other in the wrong The team attempts to build intrapersonal relations between the warring parties66087No of stray dogs according to the 2014 census conducted by BMC