An animal lover here Saturday rued the manner in which some prominent animal rights groups were suddenly concerned by the plight of an ailing elephant named Bijlee, and using her to garner publicity.
"I request them not to shed crocodile tears for Bijlee, who is in our care and improving with each day of medication, proper diet and lots of love," Animals Matter To Me (AMTM) chief Ganesh Nayak told IANS.
Nayak claimed that 11 days ago, when Bijlee had collapsed on the road, he had called up several of prominent animal organisations for help, but got no response.
"My organisation is mainly concerned with rescuing cats, dogs and other smaller animals. For us, lifting an elephant was truly a mammoth task, but we did it, and now she is recovering well," Nayak said.
Irked by the manner in which some well known large organisations like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations (FIAPO) chose to wake up after so many days to express concern for Bijlee, Nayak alleged that they are "now trying to encash on our good work, claim credit and sideline AMTM."
"We don't need film stars who strip for them to make money but do not help where it is genuinely required; we need just one Amitabh Bachchan who promptly sent out appeals for us through his blog and Twitter," Nayak said.
Elaborating, he said that since the past 11 days, Bijlee, 54, was being kept strapped on a crane as she cannot stand or sit due to weak hind leg bones. Among other things, Bijlee is suffering from arthritis and cannot walk due to a large maggot-infested wound.
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So far, she has been examined by veterinarians from Assam, Agra, Pune and very soon, vets from Kerala and Bangalore will also arrive, he said.
"I would like to inform and assure all animal lovers that AMTM has succeeded in the effort. Bijlee is responding very well to the treatment and is in a good mood," Nayak declared.
He urged people to refrain from sending food or medicines to avoid duplication and instead donate money to fund her future treatment and rehabilitation.
Details are available on the website: www.amtmindia.org.
Nayak said that so far, AMTM and another animal rescue organisation, RAWW, have managed to collect around Rs.4,25,000 for Bijlee. Rs.290,000 has been spent on her treatment at an industrial shed in Mulund suburb in north-east Mumbai.
Nayak vented his ire after two renowned organisations PETA and FIAPO separately urged the Maharashtra government to confiscate Bijlee and send her to a rescue centre, cancel her ownership papers and ban elephants from moving on Mumbai roads.
Bijlee had collapsed from overwork 11 days ago on the Bhandup-Mulund Link Road. She was taken around to beg, and grace occasions like weddings, when she was made to stand at the venue of the function and salute guests. She spent a long time standing, and was hardly allowed rest.
Bijlee is now being taken care of by volunteers of AMTM and RAWW.
Moved by her plight, Bollywood mega-start Amitabh Bachchan last week appealed for people to come forward and help Bijlee, on his blog and on Twitter.