Assam’s Abhijit Dowarah has put his love for animals into action, taking on the initiative to create makeshift kennels from old TV sets for the stray dogs in his area.
Dowarah, who had started a small shop after completing his graduation from the Bir Lachit Bor Phukan College in eastern Assam’s Sivasagar, has set up five TV shelters on the road side of his locality at Phukan Nagar so far.
“This was done as I wanted to make sure the stray dogs do not suffer out in the cold or rain or under any hostile weather. So far, I have set up five such kennels and readied twelve more,” Dowarah said.
Though the 32-year-old youth has no professional learning on science, he has developed some makeshift sprayer tools by bamboo and domestic items. Locals know Dowarah as an “innovator” who develops scrap stuff into utility items.
“I have been noticing the street dogs are suffering from various odds and weather conditions. After collecting some unused television sets, I removed the unwanted parts and accessories from the TV sets. With the remaining frame, I designed suitable homes for the street dogs to stay and titled them as ‘Baator Ghor’ (street home),” he explained.
Realising the TV shelters needed to be more distinctive, he painted them in yellow and green. Then, he added sacks and cloth across the kennel floor to make the animals more comfortable.
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“I ventured out several nights to see how the dogs live and used the ‘Baator Ghor’. I observed for a few days and the experiment turned out to be a success. I was more than happy!” the youth said proudly.
The TV kennels also have rainwater collectors so that the dogs have water to drink inside the shelter.
On social media, Dowarah has requested people to build such Baator Ghors on their streets to provide a home for the stray dogs in their area.
Sivasagar Additional District Magistrate Al Azhar Ali has spoken out in appreciation of the creations, calling them “a wonderful initiative.”
Earlier this year, the inventive Dowarah had shaped a certain type of torch for the safety of the women and a “gadget” for hand sanitisation during the pandemic.
“During the past five years, I have created some 50 utility items from scraps and trash material. So, people don’t throw away old and unused material but give them to me,” Dowarah said, adding that he had submitted papers about his creations to the Guwahati IIT.
Sujit Chakraborty, IANS
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