Mumbai”: Raising safety concerns for women animal feeders among practicality issues ,the animal feeders’ community has objected to a Mumbai police tweet which appealed that they feed animals only between 5.30 am to 7.30 am.
The tweet from Mumbai Police’s official twitter handle on Saturday had stated that animal lovers must feed the community animals in their neighbourhood only in the allotted slot for ‘better crowd management’.
Feeders say, firstly, animals are not out at that hour and come out only later. The early morning slot is termed ‘inconvenient’ by many too, as they must prepare fresh food, which takes around an hour to prepare.
This means they would have to wake up around 4 am! There are also logistics issues they say – those who mass feed arrange an auto or other vehicle, which will be difficult to coordinate at that time. For 19-year-old Akshata Padgaonkar. safety concerns loom large.
She was eve teased when she tried following the police directive and stepped out before dawn to feed animals. “I feed animals in construction sites. How can I step into such places in the pitch dark, with only a few sleeping men around,” she asks.
Four cats whom she feeds take shelter in a hotel and were locked in at that hour, with a few sweepers sleeping tight. “Nobody is going to feed these animals and if we don’t, they’ll go hungry,” she says.
Poornima Chandrashekhar, a trainer and feeder whose group of 15 feeders feed around 630 dogs, 150 cats and pigs in and around Vashi, said her group feeds animals in markets and truck terminuses too. “Can you imagine young women feeding animals at that hour and men staring at them while brushing their teeth.
This directive is a Nirbhaya waiting to happen,” she said. Lorna D’Souza (63) has been feeding 25 animals for over three decades. During the lockdown, she is feeding even more. “I have a heart problem and need to get proper sleep. Who will take responsibility if something happens to me,” she asks.
A Mumbai police spokesperson said the police may come up with new guidelines and that they are considering the feedback they have received from feeders. However, he added that it would have to be a balanced approach as they have to ensure complete compliance with lockdown guidelines.
