Kaumudi Gurjar

Computer Administration

samaritans

Nitin Jani

Dipesh Patel

animals

Manoj Oswal

Aditya Paranjape

P S Ingule

By:It’s rare to see anyone spare a second glance for roadkill, despite the towering number of innocent strays and other wildlife regularly being plowed to death on our highways.But in an unusually touching display of respect for these unfortunate victims, a group of techies last Friday not only terminated their picnic plans halfway to Lonavla when they saw the callous disregard of passers-by for such carcasses, but also took up the rather noble task of burying them in roadside trenches.The group of IT professionals from various cities have the NGO ‘Live’ in common, which they collectively founded in 2010 after they finished their post-graduation intogether from the Sinhagad Institute of Technology, and are actively involved in social work every weekend.One of Friday’s good, who works with city-based T Max Solutions, 28- year-old, said, “In the morning, we were all set to picnic in Lonavla. As we left Pune, we came across a dog hit by a speeding car, and were disturbed by its casual treatment — it was literally some sort of circus to avoid running over the carcass. Some vehicles just ran over it again.No one thought of removing it from the road.” He added, “We got down and moved the carcass out of the way, and buried it in a roadside trench that we dug, but started coming across more and more roadkill.This was enough to compel us to halt our plans — we instantly decided that we should bury them all, to save them from further humiliation and cruelty from several speeding vehices before scavengers arrived.” The group then decided to travel till Lonavla to bury all the roadkill they found, and later extended the journey to Satara.When they finally called it a day, after 12 hours on the road starting from 6 am, they had found and buried 28 dogs — including some puppies — who had been killed by speeding vehicles on the Pune-Mumbai and Bangalore highways. Another group member, 28-year-old, who hails from Surat and works with a Bangalore-based software company, elaborated, “We always carry First Aid kits, so whenever we come across birds orin distress, we make it a point to help the creature. On Friday, each time we stopped to move a carcass, it took not more than five minutes.Why then do people fail to show any sensitivity towards roadkill on highways?” City-based animal rights activistexplained, “Stray deaths on highways are a common phenomenon, thanks to speeding vehicles.While this is very unfortunate, nothing much can be done about it, as if vehicles slow down to avoid running over a dog, they could get hit by vehicles coming from behind.” Friends of Animals memberadded, “The spate of dog deaths on highways during monsoons is associated with mating cycles — when packs of dogs chase female counterparts, chances of them unwittingly being run over increase.”On behalf of the authorities, Deputy Superintendent of Police (Pune Highway)said, “We have sent several letters to IRB, who take care of the highways, to erect protective fencing to avoid this problem, but in vain. People driving precariously is another reason for such regular stray deaths on highways.”►►► Stray deaths on highways are common... but if cars slow down to avoid running over a dog, they could get hit by vehicles from behind