For fourteen years Gaziul Islam has been providing food for hungry animals and birds. He is an upper-grade assistant at Rajshahi University's Shaheed Sukhranjan Samaddar Teacher-Student Cultural Centre (TSC).
Speaking to him, it emerged that he has been working for the campus's animals and birds since 2008. About a third of his salary goes on them, from food to medical costs. Part of every morning is spent with the animals, and he has come to understand the ways of dogs and cats. He started with his own money, but later some university teachers offered financial help.
When the campus closes, dogs, cats, mynas, pigeons and other animals face a food shortage. There are about 60 dogs and about 12 cats on campus. Gaziul has another 14 dogs and about 150 pigeons at home, and some mynas on campus are his too.
Ramadan hunger
He said: "During Ramadan the dining halls and canteens of the university's residential halls are closed, so the dogs and cats on campus are close to starving. So I cook in the morning and go looking for them to feed them. Even when the dining halls and canteens are open, the campus animals are deprived of the students' leftover food, because the dining and canteen owners sell the leftovers elsewhere instead of giving them to the animals."
Gaziul added: "I do this out of affection for animals and birds. I have built a friendship with them. When they see my vehicle going by, they run after it, and sometimes when they cannot find me they sit beside the vehicle."
He said the vice-chancellor gave Tk 10,000 last year out of love for the animals and promised more help if needed. "If all of us come forward from our own positions to protect these helpless creatures, the animals and birds too can live safely in the world," he said.
Pro-vice-chancellor Professor Dr Sultan-ul-Islam told Jago News that the animals and birds are part of the campus. "Their importance in maintaining the balance of nature is immense. To protect biodiversity, animals and birds must be conserved first. If the university administration, teachers, students, officers and staff all lend a hand, the animals and birds will be able to roam the campus in safety," he said.
Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.
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