Taking care of the strays

Even though pets are taken care of with much affection, the same can't be said about animals on the street. These strays often suffer from different illnesses, but there's no one to tend to them.

To change this scenario, a group of youths in Chattogram have mobilised themselves to take care of the street animals. Under the banner "Petman Chittagong", they provide medical services, like vaccination, to strays in different parts of the city.

This correspondent talked to Petman Chittagong's Md Faizul Islam, while the group was on a vaccination drive in the port city's Khulshi area recently.

He said a few friends and some seniors formed the organisation in January this year. Businessman Sohail Ahmed and social worker Hasina Mumtaz joined them as patrons to make this initiative successful.

In the last five months, they have vaccinated more than 200 animals.

He claimed that this kind of work falls under the jurisdiction of the authorities, but no authority has performed this duty for a long time. So, they took up the initiative to make the people of the society and the city corporation aware of the need to vaccinate these animals.

Of the five members of this organisation, three are students. Faizul completed his diploma in computer science, Umme Hani Trisha is a student of bio-pharma, and Umme Samiyun Boshri completed her honours in computer science.

Trisha said, "After vaccination, I've noticed the relief in the faces of people in those areas. This is where our satisfaction lies."

Sohail said, "It's our duty to take care of these animals. The people of the society will be safe if the city corporation comes forward to provide vaccine to these strays."