Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh: Amid growing attacks on Ukraine, evacuated Indian nationals from the conflict-torn country have refused to leave their pets behind.
An Indian national Gautam who was rescued from Ukraine’s capital Kyiv arrived in India along with his cat. He came by the third Indian Air Force’s C-17 aircraft early on Thursday.
The pet cat was part of Gautam’s journey from Ukraine to India. The pet has been with him for four months. The cat stayed with him in the bunker and crossed Poland along with him.
Talking to ANI, Gaurav said: “This cat has been with me for the past four months. It stayed with me in the bunker, and then we crossed into Poland together.”
Another evacuee Zahid brought his friend’s dog along with him from Ukraine.
“I have brought my friend’s dog with me from Ukraine. Many people who had dogs left them behind in Ukraine, but I brought this dog along with me,” he told ANI.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Government of India issued a memorandum facilitating “a one-time relaxation measure” for bringing back pet dogs and cats along with stranded Indians who are being evacuated from war-hit Ukraine.
The step by the Indian government came after an appeal from the ‘People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)’.
A viral video was posted on social media by Rishabh Kaushik, a final-year undergraduate student of software engineering at the Kharkiv National University of Radio Electronics in Ukraine, in which he could be seen saying that he is not going to leave behind his dog ‘Malibu’ in Ukraine. He added that he tried contacting the Indian authorities so that he could take his dog with him but they repeatedly asked for documents.
PETA wrote to Parshottam Rupala, Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairy to press for allowing the Indians to take their pets along with in the flights.
Third Indian Air Force’s C-17 aircraft carrying 208 Indian citizens from Ukraine landed at Hindon airbase near Delhi from Rzeszow in Poland on Thursday.
Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt received the Indian citizens on their arrival and interacted with them.
‘Locky’ refused onward journey to Kerala
Meanwhile, ‘Locky’, the cat, has had a bumpy ride from Ukraine along with its owner Anju Das, a student who owns the pet. But after reaching Delhi, the local flight refused to fly the cat under the pretext that pets are not allowed.
Das, a student, said she just could not think of leaving her best mate in Ukraine, and she decided to bring it along with her. Now she is determined that if she could bring it all the way from war-torn Ukraine, then she can take it to her home in Kerala’s Chengannur.
The two had to take a long walk to reach the Romanian border where Anju Das met with the Indian Embassy staff, who were kind enough to allow Locky to board the special Indian Air Force flight. The flight reached Delhi on Wednesday night and then her problems began.
“I got the boarding pass and the airline, after initially agreeing, later said I cannot take Locky. They did not even give me a hearing and the only thing they said is that pets are not allowed. So I decided to opt out of the flight. If I could bring my cat with a lot of hardships from Ukraine, I can take her to my home also,” said Das.
She said there are two flights on Friday from here to Kerala and will make the effort again. Anju Das says she is determined to take her pet, which stood with her in the worst of times, to her home in Kerala.
