With the summer all set to scorch us for the next four months, denizens are preparing to keep themselves hydrated to stay normal and healthy.
But for the volunteers of Jeevakarunya Asramam, located in Bhavanaipuram, the onset of summer brings in additional responsibility as they work overtime to provide water to birds and animals.
These volunteers were maintaining 60 water vessels in Bhavanipuram, One Town, Satyanarayanapuram and Gandhinagar areas and this year they are planning ti install as many as 150 to quench the thirst of the animals and birds.
“We are in operation for the past 15 years. We have so far saved around 5,000 animals,” says ashram secretary Ravi Keerthi.
The engineering graduate says on a daily basis, a three-member team would clean these vessels and fill with water. “We have an auto which carries 700 liters of water to fill all these pots, bowls and empty paint tins,” he points out.
Says Keerthi: “ The concretization of river banks has prevented animals to visit the water body to quench their thirst. Bore-wells and taps are of no use to them. Even leakages are less in the pipelines owing to alert civic staff”.
He says widening of roads has paved away for deep drains making the lives of the animals difficult to take care of their parched throats. “Most of the time, animals drink contaminated water from canals and drains. Dogs develop skin diseases owing to unclean water consumption forcing them to behave weirdly. Many puppies and claves die in canals”.
He advises denizens to keep some water near sun shades or in the corners of the open spaces for the birds to drink water during summer. “We should take them as a social irresponsibility”.
This animal activist is also using the social media to garner more support for the noble case. He asks denizens to pitch in with a contribution of just Rs. 10 to take care of a cow and a bird on a daily basis by logging on to https://www.facebook.com/jeevakarunyamasramam .
