Ahead of G20 Summit in Delhi, Authorities Size Up Threats Both Communal and Canine
The external affairs and home ministries will hold discussions to ensure peace in Delhi ahead of the G20 summit next month. Meanwhile, the city's authorities will embark on a month-long dog relocation drive from today.
![Ahead of G20 Summit in Delhi, Authorities Size Up Threats Both Communal and Canine](https://cdn.thewire.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/04141303/FjHNMmeakAEkbxa-1200x600.jpeg)
Representative image. Photo: Twitter/@g20org.
New Delhi: Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi addressed the Haryana communal violence and its relation to the upcoming G20 summit at a press briefing on Thursday, August 3.
Bagchi was answering a question by Bloomberg‘s Shudhir Ranjan about whether the MEA was concerned by the violence taking place a few weeks away from the G20 summit, and if it was in touch with other Union ministries about the situation.
“Look, of course, we would like to see a return to normalcy and peace, but this is an area that our other ministers … I mean, it is not a Ministry of External Affairs issue, and I am sure our local authorities as well as other agencies are working on this,” Bagchi said.
When Ranjan further asked if the MEA was in touch with the home ministry, Bagchi said that “we need to discuss with them to ensure peace and normalcy”.
“And we would hopefully see a very successful G20 summit next month,” he concluded.
Violence between Hindus and Muslims in Haryana erupted on Monday, July 31, after a clash at a Hindu religious procession in the state’s Nuh district.
It spread to other parts of the state, including to Gurugram (formerly Gurgaon) district, the headquarters of which houses the offices of many multinational companies.
News agency Reuters reported that the violence disrupted everyday life in the area by prompting school closures and work-from-home days.
The violence has seen seven people lose their lives and a mobile internet ban imposed on three of Haryana’s districts, which are together home to over thirty lakh people.
The MEA is the government’s nodal agency for organising the G20 summit next month.
But like Bagchi said, local authorities in Delhi are also closely involved in preparing the city for the summit’s main events in early September, which will see world leaders such as US President Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin in attendance.
And according to a report by the Hindustan Times newspaper, preparations are in place to relocate many of the city’s stray dogs – which are estimated to number over eight lakh in total – in the upcoming weeks from areas likely to receive G20 delegates and tourists.
HT reported that the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) began relocating dogs to animal birth control (ABC) centres starting on Friday, August 4.
Areas so far identified for the relocation drive include historic sites such as the Red Fort and Jama Masjid, and upmarket localities such as Hauz Khas.
According to the paper, the MCD’s veterinary department plans to relocate dogs to ABC centres for up to six weeks.
However, animal rights activist Ambika Shukla said that this would contravene the Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023, which says that dogs may he housed in ABCs for a maximum of just seven days, unless they are injured.
“Lifting dogs at such a large-scale is unheard of. Our ABC centres are already operating at their maximum capacity and some of these centres only have a holding capacity of around 40 dogs,” HT quoted her as saying.
She continued: “Not only will they fall sick, but the rules state a dog can only be kept for a maximum period of seven days, unless there is a wound.”
“Delhi has hosted several such world events in the past, but there has not been a need to remove dogs at such a scale.”
![](https://cdn.thewire.in/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/26164121/Untitled-design-2021-07-26T164113.645-1024x478.png)
Representational image of a girl feeding stray dogs. Photo: Twitter/Madhur Telang.
MCD officials told HT that they will make provisions for the care and feeding of displaced dogs, return them to the same area where the were picked up from, and that the reason behind the drive was to prevent “inconvenience” to visitors during the summit.
Dogs aren’t the only ones in Delhi displaced because of the summit, though. The city has witnessed multiple instances of people being forcefully evicted from their homes owing to ‘beautification’ exercises conducted ahead of G20 events in the city.
A report by the group ‘Concerned Citizens of India’ last month notes that one of the most ‘distressing’ of such instances was the demolition of homeless shelters in Delhi’s Yamuna Pushta area in March this year, leaving the homeless with no option but to live on the streets.
Its report also says that a shelter at Sarai Kale Khan has also been removed apparently because a park has been constructed nearby – a venue to which G20 dignitaries will be brought.