Efforts on to move stray animals in the area to safety

Resident welfare groups, non-profit organisations, and Noida authority officials have started searching for, and evacuating, such animals in the area, in the hopes of getting them to safety before the Sunday 7am hard stop kicks in for residents of Supertech Emerald Court (which houses the two to-be-demolished towers) and the neighbouring ATS Village to leave their homes

As the curtain comes down on the condemned Apex and Ceyanne towers in Noida, much of the focus has been on the potential impact of the demolition – scheduled for Sunday afternoon – on infrastructure in the vicinity, and on residents of the neighbourhood. But a few residents and administration officials have also been at work tirelessly to ensure the safety of a particularly vulnerable group of inhabitants of Noida’s Sector 93A – community animals.

Noida, India- August 26, 2022: A street dog rescue van near Supertech Twin Tower, in Noida, India, on Friday, August 26, 2022. (Photo by Sunil Ghosh / Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

Resident welfare groups, non-profit organisations, and Noida authority officials have started searching for, and evacuating, such animals in the area, in the hopes of getting them to safety before the Sunday 7am hard stop kicks in for residents of Supertech Emerald Court (which houses the two to-be-demolished towers) and the neighbouring ATS Village to leave their homes.

Residents said that though the societies themselves house very few community (or stray) animals, several dogs, cats and bovines have made the neighbouring lanes and by-lanes their homes.

UBS Teotia, president of the Emerald Court Apartment Owners’ Association, said there are only five or six stray dogs in the society’s compound, which is under the exclusion zone.

“Residents will evacuate the society along with their pets and vehicles, and there are about five or six stray dogs in the society,” he said.

Noida authority officials said these dogs have been moved, with the help of volunteers from an animal shelter in nearby Sector 94.

“These dogs have been kept at the shelter for the time being and will be released back in to the society after the demolition is complete and the area cleared,” said RK Sharma, the Noida authority’s project engineer.

Those in ATS Greens Village said there are no community animals left in the society.“We have checked across the society, to be sure,” said Atul Chaturvedi, a member of society’s resident welfare association (RWA).

Sanjay Mohapatra, founder of the NGO House of Stray Animals (HSA), which works to ensure animals’ shelter, rescue and welfare, said they will take care of any community animals outside the societies.

“There may be more stray animals, including dogs, cats and bovines, outside the compounds. It is necessary that we clear the place in order to save them from getting injured or killed during the demolition,” he said.

Mohapatra said he has been visiting the area every day since August 24.

On Friday, he and his team also checked the Apex and Ceyanne towers to ensure there are no community animals inside.

“So far we have taken one street dog to our shelter in Sector 56. He will be released back into the area after the demolition. We have checked nearby societies, as well as at the demolition site, but all animals seem to have cleared the site,” he said.

He added that on the day of the demolition, a team of about 40 volunteers will be deployed on the periphery of the exclusion zone to ensure no animals wander into the exclusion area.

A 50-metre radius around the two towers has been demarcated as the “exclusion zone”, which will feel the brunt of the shockwave of the explosions, and will be evacuated completely by Sunday morning. The zone includes the two societies, officials said, as well as lanes in front of Apex and Ceyanne, beside Emerald Court and in front of ATS village.

According to experts involved in the project, the shockwave of the explosions will hit hardest a 10m radius, with the space likely to see an air overpressure (the pressure of the wave generated by a blast) of 162 decibels, a number likely to decrease to around 142 decibels by a 100m distance.

Kaveri Rana Bhardwaj, president of the Gautam Budh Nagar chapter of People for Animals (PFA), said that community animals, especially dogs and cats, are at danger of cardiac arrest if not rescued from the demolition site or exclusion zone.

“The animals’ hearts are weaker than that of humans. The demolition will generate heavy vibrations and sound which may result in trauma, panic and even cardiac arrest. As the demolition starts, stray animals, if not shifted beforehand, might try to run away from the area and get killed under moving traffic,” said Bhardwaj, who is also an animal behaviourist.

Noida authority officials also said a team of officials has been visiting the site every day to rescue community animals.

“We have so far found one stray dog outside the society, a cow and an ox. They have been taken to the animal shelter and will be returned after the demolition,” said Sharma.

He added that a van has been stationed in the area, and volunteers will pick up any other animals in the exclusion zone