Now, collars to save canines from collision

CHENNAI: This Daan Utsav, volunteers are reaching out even to the voiceless.
Magic Collar, an initiative organised by Bhumi, an NGO, as part of the 'festival of giving', aims to put reflector collars on dogs to prevent them from being hit by speeding vehicles at night.
"According to the Blue Cross of India, nearly 1,150 dogs were hit and fatally injured on highways between November and December 2015," says P G Nithish, an organiser of the initiative, who also volunteers with the Blue Cross and other animal rights organisations.
"We plan to cover stretches of highways, the Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR) and the East Coast Road (ECR), and other busy roads over a period of two to three months," he says, adding that they intend to do it at night as the dogs are more active then and there is less human interference.
Tying a reflector collar, made by the organisation People For Cattle in India (PFCI), round the neck of a street dog, Bharath Kumar, a student of Patrician College says, "This is the first time I am volunteering for such an initiative. I want to do my bit to prevent cruelty to animals."
Abhinaya, an organiser, says that about 15 people have volunteered for the Magic Collar drive this year.
Volunteering for an initiative like this is not without its risks, says Nithish.
"A lot of people come forward, but we cannot take them all. It is a difficult job and we need people who are good with animals," he says. "We also ask volunteers to take rabies shots as a precaution."
Is there a way to keep track of the animals that have been tagged? "Unfortunately, no. We just hope that the collars work and the vehicles swerve when they see a dog," says Nithish.