Power, water crisis hit care at shelter with 800 animals

Gurgaon: Bruno, a four-year-old St. Bernard, is suffering from high fever of 107˚ F for the last five days. Though doctors at People For Animals (PFA), the shelter home where the Alpine dog is recuperating, are trying to manage his condition with ice packs, he ideally needs cold surroundings 24x7. However, regular and long-drawn power cuts at the shelter home are making it difficult to support his fragile condition.
Despite brief spells of rain, rising temperatures has made this life unbearable.The power crisis has another fallout - water crisis - that makes it worse. And not just for people, but for animals as well.
Over 30 dogs, three monkeys, two cows and some birds are currently recuperating at the shelter, spread over 5.5 acre, which houses over 800 animals. Many of them have been rescued from slaughterhouses by the forest department or police. Others are there for treatment because of injury and illness. The shelter at Sadhrana village also runs ambulance services, conducts sterilisation drives, provides vaccinations, housing and burial services.
"We are the nodal PFA hospital in Gurgaon, and provide 24x7 ambulance service and medical help to any animal rescued or found injured in Gurgaon and Sohna. This summer, it has become unbearable for most animals," said Saptarshi Roy, manager, PFA, Sadhrana.
According to the manager, the voltage supply is as low as 160MW, which lasts on an average for a mere 9 hours a day. The shelter needs over 1,65,000 litres of water a day, but with submersible pumps difficult to run on such low voltage, animals get barely half their requirement.
Amit Chaudhery of PFA Gurgaon said the organisation has spent over Rs 1.7 lakh on diesel to run generators in June alone. "While strays can survive in this heat, pedigree dogs are vulnerable. The situation is so bad that animals, particularly small animals and birds, are falling sick regularly," he said.
"We've assured the shelter home the issue will be sorted out as early as possible. There is a high tension line from village Garhi Hasarua to Makdola water plant. We will try to see if we can connect it to the animal shelter," said a DHBVN official.
There are 470 dogs and puppies, 120 cows, 96 buffaloes, three monkeys, seven peacocks, five cats, six nilgai, 12 camels, two rabbits and 138 white rats currently with them.