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Suparna Bakshi-Ganguly, Sheila Rao -
Compassion Unlimited Plus Action..... |
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Suparna knew Crystal Rogers for many years in Delhi, and they
moved to Bangalore about the same time. They met Sheila Rao through a veterinary doctor
friend, and got her to join their little band 'because a trust needed three trustees'.
Both Suparna and Sheila had young children and little time to spare, but were so taken up
by Crystal that they 'just had to do it.' They all felt that there was need for more work
for animals, that the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) was not enough
for Bangalore, and identified the first need as an animal shelter - a place to protect and
look after animals. Compassion Unlimited Plus Action (CUPA) was |
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registered in October 1993. Crystal had started by just picking
up stray and needy animals and looking after them in her home. Then other members of the
public started bringing animals to her. Many animals were being helped, funded just by
Crystal's pension. She then moved to Whitefield with more space for herself and the animal
shelter.
In 1994, Maneka Gandhi rushed them into committing operations on street dogs - starting
from 10 a week, the number grew to 100 a week, aimed at controlling the population of
stray dogs in Bangalore. They say 'We just had to do what had to be done' and used the
Cantonment Veterinary Hospital, |
getting some press publicity for their work,
In January 1995, they decided to work with the dog pound in Koramangala, to ensure dogs
were killed humanely. The Animal Welfare Board gave them ambulances for their work, and
the public shelter was operational at Hebbal. The Veterinary College gave them 1.2 acres
of land in 1996 to build a hospital with the facilities they didn't have. Soon they also
got involved in training Animal Welfare Inspectors about their powers and duties. And CUPA
continues to help domestic animals in need, ill stray animals, accident cases and cases of
cruelty. They have no money to talk about but have started building the hospital facility,
and plan to complete it by August 2000. CUPA has also got |
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involved in work for wild animals - they retrieve snakes from new
building areas, hyenas packed in cages, and 'performing' bears. They look after them,
provide initial care and then release them in a natural environment or forest.
All the staff at CUPA are volunteers, many spend their own money for CUPA work. Suparna
and Sheila would like to keep it that way. Their dream is humane animal slaughter 'if ever
possible' because of resistance from a pro-vegetarianism group and also those running the
slaughter house. For two busy housewives, running beautiful homes and managing children,
Suparna and Shelia are more busy than ever expanding the role of CUPA, with concern only
for the animals they serve, not how it will get done or funded - they brim with
confidence, and continue this dream at a fantastic pace of growth.
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