Archana and Katrina Gorakshan Trust and Animal Rehabilitation Home (AKGTAARH) is a Public Charitable Trust dedicated to the cause of animal welfare and protection of trees, plants and environment, founded on 23rd June 2005 by Ashish V Pradhan as Founder Trustee and President with younger sister Anupama V Pradhan as First Trustee and Vice President.

Both brother and sister have long experience in the field of animal welfare are chemists by qualification with Anupama writing articles and letters on environmental and animal welfare issues and is involved in feeding and caring for animals on daily basis and also had worked successfully as a nominee on the Institutional Animal Ethics Committees (IAEC) of different institutions using animals for experimentation on behalf of the Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA) which is a committee under the control of central government and formed as per the provisions of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (PCA) of 1960.

And here it would not be out of place to mention that our trust believes in the three Rs of Reduction, Refinement and Replacement as far as experimentation on animals is concerned so that their sufferings are reduced. That is reduction in the number of animals used, refinement of experiments/experiment protocols so that animal use is continually turned redundant and finally replacement of animals with non animal models/applications like analysis of available clinical data, computer simulations and models etc wherever possible. Our trust has so far completed fifteen successful years with untiring efforts to mitigate the sufferings of animals and betterment of environment. Shri Ashish is also a writer, acted as a CPCSEA nominee and is an animal welfare trainer having been trained at the Master’s Training Programme conducted at Madras Veterinary College, Madras in Feb- March 1995 under the auspices of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) and the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI which is a statutory autonomous body of the Govt of India formed under the PCA Act. He thereafter conducted successfully several district level training programmes on animal welfare in the states of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

Subsequently AKGTAARH was also registered under Bombay Public Trusts Act, 1950 on 6th December 2006 and the registration number is E-1996, Nagpur (M.S) It is also registered with the Income Tax Department, Nagpur and recognised with the AWBI and its recognition code is MH 0145/2011Ashish and Anupama are avid animal lovers since childhood which was spent at different places like Ahmednagar, Dhamangaon Rly (Amravati Dist) Amrawati, Yawatmal, Wardha and Nagpur of Maharashtra state because of transferable services of father late Shri Vasant G Pradhan with the State Bank of India.

And during this time they became fond of various beautiful animal/bird friends at these places. Then be it a black cat from Ahemednagar or tongas with friendly horses there. Stoutly built dogs who would come right up to the kitchen to ask for their ‘Polis’ (Chapati) were the peculiarity of Dhamangaon Rly.

We cannot forget the beautiful Elsa at Yawatmal who was born to an equally beautiful mother with the same light black colour. It would be our great honour when Elsa’s mother allowed us to sit near her and her young ones amongst which used to Elsa as well. And every moment passed there was spent joyfully in admiring the cat family.

At Wardha, on our arrival there on 7th July 1979 we met with another beautiful canine friend called ‘Champi’ and we liked so much the reddish brown coloured champi that both of us had written down at least five to ten still more names we had given to her. Then at Wardha there was also Waghya, a young energetic dog about 1 year old. Before leaving for our Delhi- Kashmir tour we were worried how Waghya would get his daily chapatis but thanks to kind gesture shown by our neighbourers that Waghya was hale and hearty when we saw him on our return to Wardha on 7th July 1980 evening by train.

We were also fond of Tony a female dog and a reddish brown coloured cow who would stay put in our veranda till she got her daily quota of gud and chapatis. Chocky was a beautiful chocolate brown coloured male cat born to a grey coloured cat living in the same area. Chocky would visit us early in the morning when Anupama would get up for her school and be with us for a while before going for his daily round. Green bee-eaters and sparrows were other beautiful creatures who would frequent the wooden fencing poles and more so in the mornings when it would be cool. And how can we forget our school Swavalambi Vidyalay’s Nature Club which was functioning under the capable leadership of energetic and enthusiastic teachers Shri Bhalerao sir and Sarode sir. It was here where we learnt to know birds like Green-Bee Eaters, Red Vented Bulbul, Brahmi Mainas, Black Drongo etc. And the nature trail of Bor forest undertaken under the guidance and help of then forest officer Shri B.C Pal was unforgettable. There is also the poignant memory of our Aai’s beloved dog Moti who would look like a fox and was owned by our maternal grandfather late Shri Anantrao Deshmukh and would reside on their farm house at village Limbi on Washim road on the outskirts of Pusad, dist Yawatmal, Maharashtra state. Everybody in their family loved Moti and especially our mother and Moti would guard the farm like a stalwart having brought there as a puppy. Unfortunately Moti died young while returning from one ‘Pola’(festival expressing gratitude towards bullocks) fair when he came under the wheels of a rashly driven truck of the then British Indian Army.

Today when we see beautiful dogs, cats and sometimes cows or even pigs similarly dying painfully under the wheels of rashly and recklessly driven cars, SUV’s, trucks, buses and other vehicles on the country’s old and new roads we wonder what has really changed since the British had left the country because several tweets to install speed breakers at vulnerable accident points like MIDC central road at Hingna Indl area, Nagpur and registered letters for the one in front of our house at Nagpur addressed to Municipal Corporation continue to fall on deaf ears of authorities right up to the @CMOMaharashtra.

Incidentally it was the then British Indian Government which had brought the first Prevention of Cruelty on Animals Act in the year 1890 so it means they were not oblivious to the sufferings of animals.

So continuing with the above point it is the prime duty of every animal and nature loving person to always drive their two wheeler/four wheeler or any other type of vehicles with utmost caution and slow down/stop completely when you see any animal on the roads to let them pass safely and this includes wild animals who are particularly active after sunset and up to sunrise and reckless driving of vehicles especially during night time has cost lives of many wild animals throughout the country and particularly in Maharashtra state. Mere putting up of sign- boards by forest department telling sometimes ‘This is the path used by wild animals, so go slow” won’t work unless the vehicle driver is an animal welfare oriented /nature loving person and therefore underpasses (a built up underground way) for the safe movement of wildlife are absolutely necessary at such places and in fact at all such villages and junction points where animals like dogs, cats etc have no option but to cross the roads which are full of vehicles with uncontrolled speed and many of them unfortunately die while crossing and we thus request the National Highways Authority of India @NHAIIndia to look into this long pending need of animals on an urgent basis. And if you are a passenger please do tell the driver of the vehicle to drive cautiously and safely without harming any animal/s on the road.

Moti’s life story left a profound impact on us and made us evermore fond of animals and to strive for their welfare and betterment. Monty, Twinkle and Kala (cats) Bhikhu Baka (female goat) Debroos, Tutu, Brownie, Sweety, Soni, Sofi, Kalindi, Dhabbu, Rodku, Tini (all dogs) Bablu (horse) (Dablu and Tablu) donkeys were our companions at Nagpur.

There are still many more stray and community dogs like Bholu, Mingi, Dinghi, Bhingi, Fredrick, Leela, Alien, Joseph, Jonny, Zubeida, Rani, Pinti, Birju, Danny, Bhoma and Dholamaru, Subhadra, Tinku, Pinku, Rinku, Leela, Zipri. And Jhumki and Lalshingi, Shingi (cows) Bhim, Chhota Bail, Chota Bitwa (bullocks) Chooti (piggy) and her piglets at Nagpur which are cared for by our trust on regular basis.