Forever Friends

Started in 1976,the organisation had to stop its activities in the 90’s after the untimely death of Dr Paranjape. But,after a long hiatus,his son Aditya Paranjape is in the process of restarting Friends of Animals and is all set to incorporate some new activities to his father’s dream project. “The need of the hour is different and more serious these days,as the environment has gone through tremendous change over the years,” says Paranjape. The organisation will have a team of 20 people from varied backgrounds. The group plans to set up a rehabilitation centre for stray dogs too. “There are more than 60000 stray dogs in Pune and the problem is becoming bigger. We will be putting up a campaign wherein there would be rehab for the dogs as well as we will take measures to control their population,” he elaborates.

Recounting the days and experiences of working for the organisation,Dr Santosh Marathe,who was the vice-president of the organisation during those days,says,“I remember,we traveled to various villages for our movement called Dahman Vachava Muhim (Save the Rat Snake Movement). Rat snake is a non-poisonous snake,which eats rats in the fields. But due to lack of knowledge farmers used to kill them,whenever they were spotted. ” So,the team spread awareness amongst the villagers about the benefits of Rat Snake. He adds,“Had it not been there,the population of rats,which spoil the fields,would have increased like anything. We taught the villagers,how to distinguish between a poisonous and non-poisonous snake and also how to recognise a Rat Snake.”

Another active member during those days was Ram Bhutkar,who was handling the reptile department. “The animals at Peshwe Park were in bad shape. Besides,there was no compound wall. We all gathered and put up dharna in front of its gate. Later on,the authorities took action,” says he. Sharing more about the organisation,Bhutkar says,“Migratory birds at Pashan Lake were being killed by bird-hunters. After we raised an alarm,government bodies had put up various notice boards around the lake,saying – Bird hunting is prohibited in this area.” Besides,Friends of Animals was used to also organise nature quiz for children and common people.

The organisation also plans to approach the forest department for starting wildlife rescue centre. “Our main aim is to stop cruelty towards animals by creating awareness and conservation of rare species,” concludes Paranjape.