The Pet-a-thon, organised by Rotary Bangalore IT Corridor as a curtain raiser to the Bengaluru Midnight Marathon 2012, will be held on Sunday. Aimed at creating awareness on animal rights and causes, it will provide an opportunity for animal lovers to give their pets a great day-out, and a chance to ‘socialise’ with other animals.
“Around 100-150 people are expected to participate and each participant will be giving Rs 200 towards the cause,” said Nishant Iyengar, one of the organisers. Going by the numbers given by organisers, Rs 30,000 will be generated for the event.
“To rehabilitate each dog we need atleast Rs 1,000 for the first month inclusive of vaccination and food and the second month atleast Rs 500 is required,” said Debadrita, founder of the beneficiary NGO. Debadrita plans to buy a shelter home for the dogs with the funds raised. However, in which area she will be able to get a house for a mere thousands is not clear.
So, is the pet-a-thon just a socialising event under the garb of helping an NGO? When City Express contacted actress Pooja Gandhi who also has pet dogs, she said: “When pets participate in a marathon, the event becomes a little fancy. This pet-a-thon will just be a few hours of event. It is the main issue we need to address here.” But, Suparna Ganguly, an animal activist, said, “I don’t think such events are for publicity. These are platforms meant to create awareness.”