This animal lovers’ group dedicated to welfare of living & dead animals

By: LELIN MALLICK

Puri: It is said, the love for all living creatures is the noblest attribute of man. Yet, there is a group of volunteers who not only loves and takes care of injured living animals but they also are best known for disposing animal carcass free of cost.

Meet the members of the Blue Cross of India with trained veterinarians who lately travelled to the cyclone Fani affected areas of Odisha to provide services to the living and dead animals. During their stint in the most affected Puri districts they disposed animal carcass in the most ethical manner and returned back to Chennai with a lot of admirations from people as well as Odisha government.

The 14-person animal lovers’ group arrived in Odisha on May 4; just one day after the very severe cyclonic storm Fani devastated many districts of the coastal belt. They travelled all the way from Chennai on the road way, equipped with all the high-tech gears, ambulance, medicines and chemicals and gadgets to perfectly execute their duty. They first approached Sakhigopal in Puri district to conduct an animal rescue operation. Seeing their noble work while the locals extended their helping hand to the team, the district administration also left no stone unturned to help out the team in their moral operation.

Talking to Kalinga TV web team, Dawn William, General Manager (Rescue & Disaster Response) of Blue Cross of India said, “We had been keeping a close tab on the cyclone and reached Puri on May 4. We have brought with us all necessary equipment including ambulance, medicine and fodder for animals.”

“In the first phase we visited Sakhigopal for rescue operation and the district administration provided us with a JCB and other equipment to bury the animal carcass,” he added.

This group of animal lovers works free of cost. Most of the group members are associated with the IT sector. They availed leave from their work places to volunteer for the work.

The team also wanted to thank a hotel owner of Puri who provided them with facilities of lodging and food free of cost.

On the days of the rescue operation, the group used to leave the hotel in the morning and comeback at night after sweating hours in the cyclone affected areas.

“Subsequently we visited Brahmagiri and Satapada and found that both the areas were the most affected. We had to clear the roads on our own to reach the carcass. The locals also assisted us in locating animal carcass. Officials of the Animal Resources Development Department (FARD) also played a major role in rescue and relief of animals,” added William.

As per the official estimation, more than 88 lakhs of livestock was affected in the 14 districts due to Fani while more than 41lakh animals including hens were killed due to wreath of the cyclone. More than 2500 large animals were also killed in the cyclone.

The team was of the opinion that burial was the best option for disposing the carcass in the cyclone affected areas. However, they took utmost care to keep the process clean so that no other animals or humans be get affected by the carcass.

“The dead animals were buried away from the residential areas with layers of lime powder and bleaching powder. Our team disposed of hundreds of carcass in Puri district,” said a member of the group.

The team finally left for Chennai on Thursday with loads of praise both from the government and the locals. The office of the Chief Minister has also uploaded a video on its Twitter handle praising the efforts of the group.

We thank @BlueCross_ for their wholehearted support in aftermath of #CycloneFani, in assisting #Odisha Government officials in treating injured animals and helping dispose animal carcasses with dignity.@FaniRestoration@farddept @Puri_Official pic.twitter.com/iKGwrIzQiQ

— CMO Odisha (@CMO_Odisha) May 16, 2019

Also read: SRC Asks To Complete Assessment Of Damages To Private Properties By May 22