Help pours in as ragpicker, pack of strays face demolition drive, SDMC says followed protocol

Recounting the incident, Devi, who hails from Nandigram, said, “I wasn’t given a notice. I was given 20 minutes to vacate…they took away all my belongings, the cages of the dogs and their beds. The dogs are terrified and many haven’t returned,” alleged Devi. “There was no woman police… just men, and they dragged me out of the house. My body hurts, I am sick.”

While an SDMC official said that “we sent her notices, informing her that action will be taken”, Devi maintained that she “didn’t receive any notices and was taken by surprise when the officials came with police”. Since the demolition, help has arrived in the form of food, beds and cages for the dogs, from animal lovers and animal rights activists such as Ambika Shukla.

“Ambika ji visited us in the morning, they built this make-shift shanty using tarpaulin sheets. A lot of people have come forward to help us… we are grateful to them,” said Ravi, a driver, who has been helping Devi take care of the dogs for 15 years now.

Devi alleged that Meena, a kitten, and Sukhi, a dog, died in the demolition. Behind her makeshift shanty lay the bodies of the two. Ravi said, “She is a ragpicker and whatever she earns goes into taking care of the dogs and cats. We had 15 cats too, all are missing since yesterday. I have learnt compassion from her. We are all broken”.

As Devi slept on a cot, her pack of dogs — Jackie, Gabbar, Sona, Ramu, Chickloo and Shamli — roamed around, often going up to the rubble that was once home.

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