GUWAHATI: Abhijit Dowarah is a resident of Phukan Nagar, Assam. He has started a unique shelter in the historical town of Sivasagar.
The initiative, “Street Dog Home” or “Bator Ghor,” is a dog shelter home made of old unused TVs. The old TVs are cleared of rusted chipset and then painted yellow and green. The colour yellow is to highlight and green is to symbolise the natural surroundings. At the side of the arrangement is constructed a small water container, which the animals can utilise to drink. He has also installed a net for the water to be free from residues of leaves.
This empathic initiative started by the Good Samaritan has roots in a strange incident that happened to him back in his life. "I was once riding my bike when a dog came inside it. We almost collapsed but somehow neither I nor the dog was badly hurt," said Abhijit Dowarah. Following the incident, Abhijit became conscious about the living conditions of dogs in Sivasagar town. "I got myself a pet. This made me think more about the street dogs. As such, I started the initiative keeping in mind the other dogs in town," said Abhijit.
Abhijit put the portable shelters in different parts of the streets on December 4th. However, he addressed that other issues still plagued the stray dogs. “I saw that dogs suffer from a lot of diseases as they eat garbage. I encountered dead dogs under the cars. So, I knew that much is to be done.” This didn’t de-motivate Abhijit Dowarah. “I knew I can’t provide financially for all but I can at least give them a home,” said Abhijit.
Within a week, various organisations have approached to help him out. "A veterinary doctor told me that he will start an immunisation drive for the street dogs. A few groups told me that they will start a feeding drive," added Abhijit.
Abhijit and the groups have now started a feeding drive on Wednesdays and Sundays for the dogs. All of this has been possible by the dog shelter initiative, which created a sense of consciousness among the people.
However, Abhijit is still not done. "I am limited to Sivasagar but I want to take this initiative to the whole of Assam and the world. For that people have to participate and take it forward. I request everyone to make a small portable dog shelter in a similar manner and use the hashtag #BatorGhar so that the message is spread across. Then only I will believe that I have fulfilled my mission," added Dowarah.
