Amid COVID-19, over 500 animals & birds rescued

New Delhi: Amid COVID-19 outbreak, more than 500 animals, birds which were stuck on wires or fell in open sewers were rescued by Delhi Fire Services (DFS).

The DFS data accessed by the Millennium Post revealed that from March 15 to March 31, about 148 animals, 142 birds were rescued from various places in Delhi. "In April, as many as 120 animals, 110 birds were rescued," data shows. The highest number of rescue was made on March 29, in which, 15 animals, 13 birds were rescued.

According to a fire official, most of the calls were related to birds which are most of the times trapped on wires. "We ask callers, who inform us about birds, regarding height at which these birds are trapped. In some occasions,

fire tenders are not enough so they use hydraulic platform tenders that can reach up to a height of 42 metres," the official said.

Atul Garg, Director of Delhi Fire Services said that after rescuing the animals, they take them to nearby hospitals for treatment. "In some cases, birds fly away as soon as we free them. However, the injured birds are usually unable to hospitals," he said.

According to the official, due to lockdown there was a decrease in the number of calls. "Due to the closure of factories and small units, fire calls have stopped," an official said. According to data between March 15 and March 31 this year the DFS received 861 calls. Last year, there were more than 1,300 calls

during the same period. This April, the fire department said that they had received a total of only 251 calls in the first five days of the month compared to 483 calls in the same period last year.

During the lockdown, people from different walks of life are feeding poor and the needy but very few are thinking about birds and animals. According to the Delhi Police, SHO (Kalkaji) Sandeep Ghai

is regularly feeding birds at T Point in Anand Mai Marg opposite Kalkaji Temple and at Kabootar Chowk near CR Park daily.