Sudha is a resident of Adyar, Chennai. In her backyard, a street dog had given birth to eleven puppies and was acting rabid by not letting anyone near and attacking those who try to come close.
The dog has been causing nuisance and has been of concern for Sudha who lives with her old and ailing mother. But Sudha was perplexed with a dilemma. While the dog did pose a threat, she did not want the mother dog and her puppies to be left abandoned on the road.
So, she called 1913, the 24×7 helpline of Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) and explained her problem. However, they responded that they don’t shift dogs but only do birth control. She then tried calling Blue Cross and 1962 (Animal Welfare Department) who weren’t of much help either.
She called the Health Department but there was no response from there too. A couple of days she contacted the Zone 13 conservancy staff and requested that the mother dog and the blind puppies be taken to a safe place. Workers did come to catch the dog. However, their efforts went in vain as they were unequipped and the rabid had tried to bite. They also said that it was a sin to separate the mother dog and the puppies.
With no solution found to her problem, a helpless Sudha posted in the Zone 13 WhatsApp group to which H. Vembu, Secretary of Padmanabha Nagar 5th Street responded. He registered a complaint with the Prime Minister’s Office through the CPGRAMS (Centralized Public Grievance Redress And Monitoring System) on 23rd November, 2020.
Within hours, an acknowledgement from the PMO came stating that the grievance has been received and has been forwarded to an Ambuj Sharma, Under Secretary (Public). The next day, Vembu received another message stating that the complaint has been forwarded to E. Saravanavelraj, IAS, Special Officer at the CM Cell of Tamil Nadu.
Following this Vembu received a call regarding catching the mother dog and puppies. He then forwarded the number to Sudha.
In a swift and neat operation, five men arrived in a corporation van, and caught hold of the mother dog and puppies. The puppies were placed in a cardboard box and the mother was also taken along. The mother dog and the puppies were later left with Blue Cross as the Corporation did only birth control and not housing dogs.
This is how the PMO addressed the simple grievance of 2 elderly people living in Chennai.
(With inputs from Adyar Times)
Image Credits: Adyar Times