A lot of individuals, especially those who belong to the lower strata of the society, suffered and continue to suffer because of the lockdown order that came in to effect more than a month back. One has seen images and videos of people walking barefoot from the city they work in to the village their home is in. There are several reports indicating how people are dying because of not having food and other basic necessities at their disposal.
What has perhaps not attracted enough attention is the plight of animals. Animals are suffering too what with many of them being rendered homeless and not having anybody around to feed them. A couple of weeks back, actress Rukshar Dhillon, last seen in Bhangra Paa Le, posted a video on social media to raise awareness about the same. In the video, she was seen feeding a couple of stray dogs who were roaming around the building in Bengaluru she resides in.
“I have a pet dog at home called Champ and all of us are here to look after him. Animals, who do not have somebody to take care of, have suffered a lot during this lockdown. There are some stray dogs who are always around our building. Earlier, they would be fed by passers-by or people who were engaged in the construction of the buildings nearby. Now, because of the lockdown, there are hardly any people around. I understand and respect the guidelines issued by the Government and that is the reason, I just covered a distance of around 200 metres to feed these dogs. People who see animals around should try and feed them. It will take a long time for things to get stable even after this lockdown phase is over and we need to take care of them,” she says.
While the Government had issued a knockdown order till 3rd of May, there are indications that it could be extended further. While Rukshar lives in Mumbai now, she is at home in Bengaluru with family and making the most of this ‘self-quarantine’ phase.
“I know a lot of people are facing difficulties and we must pray from them. I feel fortunate to be with my family during this time. I feel this is a time for all of us to grow into a better version of ourselves. I got back to sketching recently. Baking is a passion and I am doing that as well. Apart from that, I have been learning a lot of new things”.