last diwali it professional sharmistha rane came across a group of teens trying to catch puppy by its tail i was walking down the street to attend a celebration at friends place in baner when i heard a dog screaming a group of teenage boys had grabbed the dog and were trying to tie crackers to its tail disgusted sharmistha shouted at them they casually replied kya didi ek kutta hi toh hai she shares diwali a time for celebration for us turns into a nightmare for stray animals according to the pmc census there are more than 42000 stray dogs in the city animals have a sharper sense of hearing so crackers like bombs make them nervous and uncomfortable we receive many cases of burns near the ears mouth and tail during this time educational awareness should be undertaken in schools before diwali says meher mathrani animal welfare officer president aactindia action for animals against cruelty and trauma we get atleast 5060 calls for animal related emergencies daily and the number goes up during diwali this year we have started the campaign lighting up a life where we are asking people to sponsor animals instead of using money on firecrackers says neha panchamiya president of resq charitable trust every year during diwali people for the ethical treatment of animals peta india receives countless complaints around 180 calls a day during the festival including animals who have gotten lost animals burnt by fireworks pet dogs meeting with accidents etc it is often reported that terrified animals who flee the traumatising barrage of explosions become disoriented and cannot find their way back home the lucky ones end up in animal shelters and are reunited with their families but a majority of them are never found and some sustain serious injuries or die informs deepak chaudhary emergency response coordinator peta indiacrimes against stray dogs on the rise despite increased awareness about animal rights cruelty to animals persists across the city in a recent case four stray dogs in a baner locality were allegedly tied with a rope dragged and burnt alive while 16 others were poisoned meher says on an average we receive over 1015 cases of extreme brutality towards animals every month these include dreadful acts like setting dogs on fire poisoning them and dragging them behind vehicles the highranking officers from the union government too have told city police commissioners to lend support to animal welfare officers and to take crimes against animals seriously cctv cameras must be installed and the animal birth control abc programme should be ramped up she addsanimal lovers offer a helping hand while crimes against strays are on rise there are people who are doing their bit to save them ajay patel an entrepreneur has helped at least 19 dogs with their heads stuck inside jars in the last four months he recently rescued a stray canine with his head stuck in a plastic jar for 21 days a family noticed it in the