Dear Yogi Ji,
A few days after you took charge as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, you imposed a ban on illegal slaughterhouses in the state. You also ordered a blanket ban on smuggling of cows while affirming on numerous occasions that “Cows are no less than a boon to the mankind.” The ban impacted exports and led to the rise in incidents of cow vigilantism and loss of income for several meat shop owners. We would like to assume that one of the reasons as to why you took the steps you did was to end animal cruelty and deliver the message of being kinder to animals.
However, surprisingly, cows and other animals tied up in a tortuous state without food and medicines have completely missed your notice. Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), which is an animal hospital cum shelter that aims to cater the need of animals in distress is undergoing a hard time to keep the animals in their shelter just alive. The shelter is a home to more than 1000 animals which include cows, buffaloes, dogs, cats, monkeys. The volunteers help these animals in need and make an effort to provide the necessary aid to these voiceless beings who are sick, abandoned or have been tortured in the past. But what do you do that when you have zero funds?
The shelter which has now been taken over by the Noida Authority has been reeling under severe financial stress, to the point where the animals are starving and are in pain but the doctors have no medicines to treat them. The officials at the SPCA have alleged that the Noida Authority has not released funds for the last few months and the shelter has run out of the most basic supplies. There are animals who lie in the hospital covered in maggot wounds.
However, the volunteers can do nothing but watch the innocent animals suffer in silence as they have no funds to get the medicines and treat them. The cows that your government proudly aims to protect line up at their regular spot every day looking for their feeding bowls without the idea that the food is not there. Dogs fight amongst each other to get a drop of milk from that one little bowl. Several animals just lie there waiting for their misery to end. Does that not count as animal cruelty respected Chief Minister?
Noida authority has also allegedly frozen the salaries of the volunteers and the staff member since the past three months. As a result, they have threatened to stop feeding the animals and stop working. Who are the ones suffering in return? Yes, the innocent animals at the shelter. Some have also alleged corruption within Noida Authority. The shelter is supposed to receive Rs 10 lakh every month from the Noida Authority. How hypocritical is it to impose a forceful ban and decide what people should eat but turn an absolute blind eye to the depleting condition of hundreds of animals who are in dire need of help?
Sir, jaha tak humne suna hain aap utsahi pashu premi hain aur janwaro ki madat karna pasand karte hain. Lekin Noida Authority ke gair jimmedaaraana vyavahaar ke karan ek NGO jo animals ke liye saalo se kaam kar rahe hain woh apna din-prati din ke sanchaalan nahi kar pa rahe hain aur aap iss samasya par bilkul dhyaan nahin de rahe hain. Jiske karan nirdosh jaanavaron ko bohot pareshaniyon se guzarna padh raha hain. Sirf apne naam ke animal trusts kholna aur jaanvaron ke saath photos lena ek pashu premee hone ke lie paryaapt nahin hai.
The animals at the shelter deserve your attention. They deserve to get treated. Most importantly, they deserve to be fed. They do not deserve ignorance and callousness from the laid back officials who clearly do not care about them.
