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The princess who’s taken up the cause of donkeys ........Rajiv Shah | TNN
Devgadh Baria (Dahod): In 2003 she successfully campaigned against a car rally planned in the Little Rann of Kutch because it would pass through the country’s only wild ass sanctuary and disturb the shy beasts.
Urvashi Devi Baria, the maverick princess of the former princely state of Devgadh Baria, has finally found her calling in the donkey—a beast she promises to give a royal life after the army of dogs she owns. The 59-year-old former state environment minister has given sanctuary to 197 abandoned donkeys, reserving a huge open space next to her sprawling palace in Devgadh Baria, currently under renovation. Sauntering through the herd of her newfound loves, she proudly says, “I’ll be flattered if someone calls me a donkey. Unlike many who believe it’s a dumb animal, I’ve found it to be extremely intelligent, supportive and hard working. Nobody looks after it. I decided to take up the challenge.” Inspired by Dr Elisabeth Stevedsen, founder of Donkey Sanctuary in Devon, UK, whom she met eight years ago, Urvashi Devi began work on this sanctuary in 2001. “People derided me when as minister I began looking after an abandoned donkey. Critics said there was an increase in donkey population in Gandhinagar. I didn’t care. I decided to build a sanctuary for abandoned donkeys and Dr Stevedsen supported my cause”, she says.
Apart from the aged, many young wounded donkeys are tended here. Costing just about Rs 3,000-Rs 4,000, donkeys toil for 30 years if healthy. “They are useful at brick kiln sites in the old city areas including Ahmedabad. But they’re ill-treated and abandoned after 10-15 years. My mission is to build a viable home for such strays,” she said. At the palace, they are fed on a diet of pelleted feed, chana churi, wheat flakes and fodder twice a day.
The sanctuary also supports five donkey veterinary clinics across the country—at Ahmedabad, Gurgaon, Sholapur, Gwalior and Lundlot in Rajasthan. Princess Urvashi Devi outside the donkey shelter at the palace in Devgarh Baria
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