'Form mandal-level committees to stop cruelty against animals'

Mahabubnagar: District Collector S Venkat Rao had held a meeting with the concerned revenue, police and animal husbandry officials in the collectorate and instructed them to form mandal level committees to spread awareness on stopping cruelty against animals.

This decision to form mandal level committees has come in the backdrop, after a recent incident in Gunded village of Balanagar mandal, where the gram panchayat officials had killed as many as 60 stray dogs by administering poisonous injections last week.

Reacting to this, the social organisations working for prevention of cruelty against animals had lodged a complaint with the district officials, with this; the district collector S Venkat Rao had taken a decision to form mandal level committees to spread awareness against cruelty towards animals.

On Saturday, the district collector addressed a meeting with the "District Level Committee for Prevention of Cruelty towards Animals" in his chamber instructed them to form mandal level committees to ensure prevention of cruelty against the animals. Recollecting about the recent inhuman incident of killing of dogs in Gunded village, the collector expressed sadness over the incident and instructed to the authorities to make sure no such incident recurs in the district.

In fact, the district administration had taken stern action against the Gunded village Sarpanch and the secretary and filed a case against them for killing the dogs instead of catching them and shifting to other places.

Taking the incident very serious, the district collector held a meeting with the concerned officials and gave them clear instructions to the district level committee, to form mandal level committees and conduct awareness programmes at all the mandal headquarters and at weekly animal markets. The collector directed the Tehsildars, Sub-Inspectors Animal Husbandry Department officials of all the mandals, to must visit the places where 'Santas' are held in all the respective mandals and create awareness by educating the public about prevention of cruelty and avoid persecuting towards mute animals. Adding further district collector said that it is the responsibility of every officer to ensure there is no repeat of incidents like the recent one in the future. "We have decided to take strict action against anyone who exhibits cruelty against animals. For this we have decided to form mandal level committees. These committees will visit the weekly markets regularly and hold awareness programmes to prevent cruelty against animals. Because animals also have life like humans, and they should be treated like all living beings. Therefore no one should indulge to torture the mute animals, if they do, strict action will be taken," warned the collector.

The Collector directed the revenue, police and animal husbandry officials of each and every mandal to hold continuous awareness programmes using the Kalajata police cultural troops, cultural folk artists and others.