Rescue centre volunteers nurse alcoholic monkey, burned donkey

Wardha: Rani was introduced to alcohol by her owner three years ago. Her master would prepare a drink of Bagpiper whiskey or country liquor every evening and she would take a few swigs from the bottle. Initially, he had to coax her. But that was only for the first few days. She was soon addicted to booze. Rani is a monkey.

While there are many organizations that run de-addiction programmes for people, an alcoholic monkey has fewer options. But at Karunashram, a rescue-cum-animal shelter in Wardha, volunteers embraced the challenge. They put Rani on medication and started feeding her dark energy drinks, resembling whiskey, to curb her sundown furies. She was also put in isolation and only occasionally allowed to mingle with other primates to lift her spirits. Rani has now recovered and is all set to be released.

During a recent visit to Wardha, Maneka Gandhi, the minister for women and child development, met Rani while inspecting the shelter, which is a local branch of her NGO 'People For Animals' (PFA). Started in 2004 as a small cattle shed with a few dog cages, the shelter now houses over 600 animals including a python, monitor lizard, blue bull, camel, horse and various exotic birds. The minister praised Karunashram calling it better than her shelter at the Centre and directed the founder, Ashish Goswami to increase the number of inmates.

"Shelters and rescue centres in Nagpur and Chandrapur should be built along similar lines. Animals should not be captured for long periods and should be released once they are fit," said Gandhi. She also inaugurated a one-lakh-litre water tank built by Wardha MP, Ramdas Tadas, at a cost of Rs 9 lakh for the shelter.

"In 2006, a part of Karunashram was recognized as a rescue centre by the Central Zoo Authority (CZA). The rest houses a domestic animal shelter approved by the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI). In January last year, over 15 dogs and a camel, Geeta, were rescued from Moonlight Circus and shifted to the shelter. In just 15 days, all the dogs were adopted by animal lovers; while Geeta became a permanent resident joining two older inmates Sita and Ramu, who were found abandoned in the Karanja forest area. "As they are desert animals, we customized their sheds with sand and we take them out to graze," said PFA volunteer Kaustabh Gawande.

In 2013, a donkey, burned with boiling water, was brought to Karunashram where she was re-named Katrina. "We kept her in the shelter and provided regular medical treatment for her burns. She got fit in two years and was adopted by a family in 2015," says Goswami.

The idea for the shelter was conceived in 1999 when Goswami was a 12th standard student. His mentor Vikas Amte, elder son of the late Baba Amte, recognized his passion for animals and suggested he write a letter to Gandhi, an emerging animal-rights activist. She replied within a week, asking him to form a local chapter of her NGO. "I formed a group and we began rescuing sick and injured animals but had no place to keep them. Our family members were furious as our homes were always full of animals," recalls Goswami.

The youngsters soon ran out of space and had to turn to Gandhi for help. On her advice, they met the then district collector Milind Mhaiskar. "He allotted us five acres of land but we could not afford the valuation cost, which was around Rs 2.25 lakh. Much to our surprise, the district collector himself raised the funds for us," says Goswami.

"I still remember when these boys came to me and said, 'We want to do something for animals.' I knew their intentions were honest but did not expect their efforts would be so successful," says Mhaiskar.

However, the centre still struggles to raise funds to meet its monthly expenditure of Rs 1 lakh—often selling dry cow dung to crematoriums to
stay afloat.