While Covid-19 lockdown is in force, hundreds of stray animals are left without food. A few youths here have acted as Good Samaritans for them.
Meet the members of Shri Jagannath Charitable Trust, who under the leadership of Daman Mohanty, have been feeding and taking care of the stray animals, including cattle, canines and simians. These animals generally roam on streets to get their food from the bystanders, hoteliers, and others. However, since people stay indoors and hotels and shops are closed these days due to the lockdown, these animals are starving, with some of them even having died without food.
According to Mohanty, president of Shri Jagannath Charitable Trust, stray dogs, moneys and bulls are hit hard by the ongoing lockdown following all the restaurants, tiffin stalls, hotels and eateries were closed. As a result, with nobody is there to feed them and the plight of these innocent animals is nobody’s business. “So we have decided to feed the stray animals in Kendrapada township and also the simians at Jajpur-based Maha Vinayak Temple, where they are seen in large numbers.
Every day, these volunteers are providing vegetables, biscuits and bananas to the animals. For feeding the stray canines and simians, they are collecting funds from the members.
“Several NGOs, kind hearted persons and youth organisations are supporting us unflinchingly by providing food stuff or money,” said Kedar Swain, a member of the organisation, adding, “We are also feeding the destitute, like beggars and mentally challenged persons roaming on the streets.”
Some youths of Marshaghai canal bridge area are also in the limelight for providing food packets to the abandoned insane persons and beggars in the area. “Every day, we have been distributing nearly 40-50 food packets to the neglected sections by moving on the street, starting from Chhagharia to Nilachalbazar and from Marshaghai canal bridge to Kharanasahi,” stated the youths, requesting anonymity, because they said that they wanted to stay away from publicity.