Mumbai school defies SC order, refuses to remove stray dogs from campus

Despite a Supreme Court directive ordering that stray dogs be removed from the premises of schools hospitals and public transport hubs the LM Tulip English School located in Lokmanya Tilak Nagar Sakinaka has issued a letter stating that it will not complyIn the letter dated November 8 the school mentioned that it houses two community dogs Yeva and Pandu who have been living on the school premises for the past 14 years The letter further states that the dogs are friendly with teachers students and staff and have been an integral part of the school communitySaloni Kudalkar principal of LM Tulip English SchoolThe canines were adopted nearly 15 years ago by the schoolrsquos principal and trustee Saloni Sudhir Kudalkar who is also the wife of Senior Inspector Sudhir Kudalkar of Marol police station The couple are known animal loversThe missiveThe schoolrsquos letter reads ldquoWe will not remove the dogs from our school premises The dogs residing on the campus receive care from students faculty and staff who have voluntarily taken on this responsibility This communityled approach has created a harmonious coexistence that reflects our institutional values Displacement harms both animals and peopleThe letter issued by the schoolOur caregivers have invested time and emotion in these relationships Moreover removal simply shifts the problem mdash new dogs will arrive but without the established care network the current population enjoys We support our communityrsquos compassionate efforts and are all willingly ready to keep our dogs within our school premisesrdquoPrincipal speaksSaloni Kudalkar the principal of LM Tulip English School said ldquoI am an animal lover and have been taking care of these two dogs for the past 15 years We donrsquot have nighttime security guards but wersquove never had a robbery or housebreaking incident mdash because these dogs guard the school They bark and alert us if anyone tries to enter The staff and children named them Pandu and Yeva They are very friendly and have never bitten anyonerdquoShe further added ldquoWe are against the Supreme Courtrsquos directive We will not remove our dogs mdash they are part of our school family Every month I spend nearly Rs 5000 from my salary to take care of them If the government or BMC forces us to remove them we will oppose it but we will not under any circumstances let the dogs gordquoYeva and Pandu are surrounded by staff and students of LM Tulip English School at Lokmanya Tilak Nagar in Sakinaka Andheri East PicsBy Special ArrangementMona Kaur a clerk at the school for the past 16 years said ldquoThese dogs have been with us for many years They are loyal and protective We donrsquot want them to go anywhere mdash they belong hererdquo The school currently has around 950 students across its primary secondary and junior college sectionsEmotional attachmentCaretakers Naina Kanaskar and Sadhna More said ldquoWe want the dogs to stay inside the school We have an emotional attachment to them We play with them during free time mdash theyrsquove never harmed anyonerdquo School attendants Ramdas Jadhav Nitin Ingle and Shantanu Bagul added ldquoWe are very attached to these dogs and feed them every day We request the Supreme Court BMC Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and the government to reconsider the orderrdquolsquoAwareness neededrsquoAnimal lover Roshan Pathak said ldquoEvery institution or school should educate its students about animals animal cruelty and how to be kind to animals These youngsters are our nationrsquos future and they should understand that even animals suffer when people abuse them Every school and institution should have an animal awareness programme for students We have conducted numerous awareness campaigns in schools and universities and we honour institutions that demonstrate compassion for animals and impart animal knowledge Animals in our communities will never hurt people if we take good care of them we only need to reassure them that we are not harming themrdquo