For years, lone shelter in Greater Noida housed over 100 animals — it’s now in danger of closing

Its founder, Kaveri Rana Bhardwaj, said, “Despite (our) lease agreement, we have been asked to vacate the place”.

The only functional private shelter in the district, it is located on an area of six bighas in Imaliya village and is at a distance of 7 km from Greater Noida’s Omicron society.

According to Additional Chief Executive Officer, Greater Noida, Sreelakshmy V S, there are no other functional animal shelters in the area at present.

“We are planning to set up six animal shelters soon, three in Greater Noida East and three in Greater Noida West. We have started to look for places as well,” she said.

There is, however, one animal shelter in Noida’s Sector 94, housing around 1,600 animals. “Animals keep moving in and out of this sanctuary,” said Deputy General Manager, Noida, SP Singh.

Smart Sanctuary was first opened in 2017 in Greater Noida’s Ghodi Bachheda village by Bhardwaj. “We moved to Imaliya in 2023, it was the fourth time we shifted. We had taken the premises on a lease for three years but now, after a year, the landlord wants the place to be vacated,” she said, adding that she is unable to pay the “increasing” rent.

“Animals go through emotional turmoil in this process of being shifted,” she added. “They develop an attachment with the place they live in and bringing them back to normalcy is tough.”

Ramesh Patli, 23, a caretaker at the shelter who hails from Chhattisgarh, said: “The animals understand us and we understand them, even when they do not talk.”

Bhardwaj is also worried about the logistics. She said the monthly expenditure for the shelter reaches about Rs 8.30 lakh, of which more than a lakh is spent on rent. “I have my seven staff to pay, the food for cows and buffaloes has become expensive, the electricity bill has gone up, and there are no funds to finance all this,” she said.

Currently, the shelter houses 86 dogs — one of which is a pitbull breed — two monkeys, two hens, three rabbits, 60 cows, two goats, six cats, five birds — Indonesian sparrows and one Australian parrot — and 10 horses and donkeys.

These animals were rescued from butcher houses, poultry retailers, roads and neighbourhood streets. Around 43 dogs are paralysed, and 13 cows suffer from mastitis, an infectious disease that results in the production of poor-quality milk.

Apart from the Smart Sanctuary, 13 Indie dogs, three rabbits, and a monkey have been staying in two different rented premises in Omicron society.

Bhardwaj, meanwhile, said she is looking for every possible option to house the animals.