THOOTHUKUDI/TIRUNELVELI: Water levels receded in the rain-affected districts of Thoothukudi and Tirunelveli to reveal distressed stray animals, who seem to have been forgotten amid the deluge. In the absence of food and shelter, hundreds of dogs either sparred with fate or succumbed to it.
The onslaught of torrential rain was followed by the wrath of floods. Those who survived both are now left to fight hunger. Not being able to wander to find food, a stray dog turned to humans. This reporter trailed the dog and found that it went and lay down right in front of the Collectorate in the hope of help. Just a couple feet away, was the carcass of a stray cattle that probably died in the floods.
Apart from humans, who stepped out of their houses on Wednesday, hundreds of stray dogs and cattle can now be seen wandering the streets of Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi. “There was no safe place for the strays and neither were any measures taken. First, it was the floods, and now hunger.
On seeing us, several dogs howled and wagged their tails hoping for food. But, even we could not find much apart from a few packets of biscuits. Availability of food is anyway a problem right now. The animal husbandry department could have fed these animals,” said animal activist B Shanmuga Mohan from Thoothukudi. According to Mohan, it is the apathy towards these animals that has resulted in the deaths in the past couple of days.