Mumbai: Worli resident breached lockdown to feed 200 stray dogs

Economics teacher breached lockdown and curfew regulations to ensure the 200 strays she fed daily didn't go hungry

Poonam Samtani
Feeder, founder of Mumbai United For Strays

One evening in April, while out on her daily round to feed the area's strays, Worli resident Poonam Samtani found herself being trailed by a convoy of police cars with flashing lights. "They wanted to know where I was going, because this was during the initial days of the national lockdown and state-imposed curfew." But, she wasn't going to let her 10-year routine get disrupted by the pandemic. "I live with three senior citizens, but I couldn't possibly stay at home while my furry children were going hungry." On being questioned, Samtani, who runs Poonam Tuitions, a private coaching centre, opened her car trunk to reveal containers filled with chicken and rice and dog food pellets.

At the time, the slums in Worli had been declared containment zones, and the National Sports Club of India (NSCI) was being converted into a quarantine centre. Eighty per cent of the 160 strays that Samtani had been feeding daily since 2013, belonged to these areas. The numbers had multiplied, because hungry animals from surrounding areas would come looking for food. "Nobody was allowed inside the quarantine centre. I went there every day, and the BMC officers relented, because otherwise the animals would die. The animals normally survive on scraps thrown by restaurant kitchens or street vendors. During the lockdown, there were none. I lost 10 strays because there was no food." Through Facebook posts and WhatsApp messages, she collected donations of dog food worth Rs 1 lakh, but that got over quickly.

Samtani, along with comrades from the animal fraternity, approached Aditya Thackeray, minister for tourism and environment, requesting that pet food be included in the essential category.

It's been over nine months since, and Samtani's relentless pursuit to feed and protect Mumbai's strays, continues. Her activities, however, aren't restricted to feeding alone. During the cyclone, Samtani helped rescue a five-year-old dog living near the village of Channat, Raigad, who had a bone stuck in his throat for a week and was barely able to breathe. "He had been whining in pain for three days, and due to the pandemic, nobody wanted to help the dog. An animal lover Suraj Kadam, from Mumbai, who had been to the village for a wedding, informed us about the dog." With no vet in the area, Samtani, along with her animal loving friends, pooled in money and sent a vehicle. Since nearly all medical facilities for animals, including BSPCA and TSPCA, were shut for the two months of the national lockdown, the dog was sent to In Defence of Animals (IDA), Deonar, the only hospital operating at the time. Cookie has now been adopted by IDA.

Through her WhatsApp group, Mumbai United for Strays (MUFS), she has also been raising money, rescuing and finding homes for abandoned animals. Her efforts have extended to Lonavla and Khandala as well. "We raised R6 lakh for rescuing animals that were abandoned in the fringe areas of Mumbai, or hit by speeding vehicles. Animal abuse has been on the rise, because dogs and cats are entering housing societies for food. Due to COVID-19, people are fearful, and so, they end up beating, burning and even throwing acid on them. It has been a traumatic time."

Although the situation has improved in the last few months, the challenge for Samtani and her ilk is to get the BMC to restart its sterilisation programme, that was discontinued in the lockdown. "Besides preventing unwanted litter, spaying is critical for management of free-roaming dogs and cats, and control of disease."

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