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This city is theirs too
Murals on Dhaka street rally for stray dogs’ habitation
Chattogram zoo saw the arrival of nearly 50 baby animals in the past two months. The royalest of these arrivals was of the tiger cub Corona (seen napping). The chirping of baby birds can be heard throughout the zoo, and baby fawns are starting to resemble the adults.
Photo: Rajib Raihan
Fahmim Ferdous
If one can even remember a time before the Covid-19 pandemic, one of the most familiar scenes on the streets of Dhaka were people gathered around tea stalls – snacking, smoking and chatting with friends, colleagues or even total strangers. And almost inevitably around every such gathering would be a friendly canine face or two, waiting eagerly for a kind soul to throw a piece of cookie or cake.
Stray dogs have inhabited Dhaka perhaps for as long as the city has existed, living in harmony with the urban ecosystem and adapting to it. While a cruel practice of culling was once commonplace, animal rights activists in 2014 succeeded in getting a High Court rule banning dog culling in the country.
However, media reports in the last two weeks about Dhaka South City Corporation’s (DSCC) plans to relocate all stray dogs within its area to outside the city has worried animal lovers.
Yesterday morning at Satmasjid Road, a group of aggrieved animal lovers joined hands to protest the decision, not with banners and slogans but with brushes and buckets of paint.
People for Animal Welfare (PAW) Foundation organised the event, to depict the struggle of the furry four-legged friends in this city in murals on a wall. Renowned painters Abul Barq Alvi and Kanak Chanpa Chakma inaugurated the event by putting the first brushstrokes on the wall, between Dhanmondi’s roads 9/A and 10/A.
A few dozen people were in attendance, some ready to paint the murals, some handling the logistics, while some others came just to support.
Shamim, a BGB personnel currently enjoying leave, was spotted appreciating the artwork. “I came here from Biswa Road to support the initiative, and plan to be here all day today and tomorrow,” he told this newspaper.
“Back in my hometown Patuakhali, I have been looking after street dogs and rescuing injured ones since my teenage years. I think it is an unjust decision by authorities to move so many dogs outside the city, because they could all starve to death if they are sent to a new area.”
Talking to The Daily Star, eminent artist Abul Barq Alvi said, “If us humans don’t look after these animals, they will not be able to survive.”
“I often see on my commutes homeless children who live on footpaths caring for and feeding street animals from whatever little they have, and it fills my heart with joy. Love for other beings also make us better humans,” he further added.
Underneath the tarpaulin shed on the wall where the murals were being drawn, Richi and Neeti – two architecture students at a private university -- sat waiting for the drawing to finish so they could start the paint job.
“I have been an animal lover since childhood. When the lockdown began in Dhaka, me and some other animal lovers divided Bashundhara Residential Area – where I live – into zones and fed all the dogs there because they did not have food. When I saw that PAW Foundation was looking for volunteers for the event, I knew I had to join. I also brought my friend along to paint,” Richi told The Daily Star.

Ctg zoo sees baby boom
Mohammad Suman, Ctg
With no visitors interfering, the animals of Chattogram zoo have spent a blissful summer this year, thanks to the pandemic. At least 50 offspring of different animals were born at the zoo in the past two months, which includes tiger cubs, deer fawns, and peacocks.
The zoo authorities said the birth rate has increased due to chaos-free tranquil environment for a long period due to the closure of the zoo.
On the other hand, the zoo also got a renovation with infrastructural development and tree plantation during the pandemic period.
One tiger cub, four deer fawns, four peacocks, ten parakeets, two monkeys, seven Indonesian chickens, and twenty doves of various species were born at the zoo.
The authorities are also waiting to welcome more baby animals -- zebra, horse, deer and cuckoo -- soon.
While visiting the zoo on Wednesday, the newborn offspring were seen busy playing with their parents. There are very few visitors at the zoo since its reopening amid the pandemic on Sunday.
Abul Hossain of Muradpur area visited with his two daughters. He told The Daily Star, “I came here before the pandemic but I did not see such a beautiful environment. Now almost every cage is full of animals and birds.”
Zoo physician and deputy curator Dr Md Shahadat Hossain said, “The habit of animals has changed during the lockdown. In absence of visitors, these animals found a favourable environment for breeding.”
He said before the pandemic, 2,000 people visited the zoo on average per day but now there are around 500 visitors a day. If the situation is normal, the number of visitors will increase, he added.
Tisha Bhattacharjya, founder of Society of Rise for Paws & Claws, said, “The zoo should limit the number of visitors it allows as several animals are still in the process of delivery or carrying their babies. A crowded environment may cause problems for them.”
“Those animals are accustomed to breeding in the forest in their favorable environment. At this time, they like to avoid people or noise. The zoo authorities should keep these animals in separate places during birth period,” she added.
Contacted, the zoo’s member secretary and Hathazari Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Md Ruhul Amin said, “These animals have become accustomed to seeing visitors at the zoo. Even then, it is being ensured that no visitors disturb them during birth period.”
He said they are increasing the budget to fulfil the additional demand of food for newborn members of the zoo.
Chattogram zoo, set up on February 28, 1989, is located in six acres of hilly terrain in the city’s Foy’s Lake area. The zoo now hosts 620 animals and birds of 66 species.
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