An animal’s paradise

Entrepreneur Rita Singh is passionate about saving and nursing injured animals and has set up an ashram where over 800 dogs, cows and other animals are tended to.

Rita Singh doesn’t just love animals, but cares for them in a very unique way. The CMD of Mesco Steel, Rita has set up an ashram for animals.

Talking about Krishna Ashram she says, “Around 35 years ago, I would see a small set of stray animals on the road and started caring for them. It was a very small venture, and I thought I would keep about 10 to 20 animals. Then slowly in years to come it kept growing. In 2000 the number rose to 100. And now I have approximately 800 dogs, cows and I also look after other animals. I also feed around 200 dogs more, so almost 1,000 dogs are taken care of by me. When I am on business in Orissa I take care of around 100 dogs there too. So I’m looking after about 1,100 dogs in total.”

Balancing her role as CMD of Mesco Steel and also looking after her animals in Krishna Ashram calls for a lot of time management. She says, “I start off early in the morning to look after the business and go to Krishna Ashram in the evenings. On Sundays I am there all day. We have Whatsapp groups of all people working there, so I am always in touch managing everything.”

Talking about her love for animals, she mentions, “Since childhood I have been very fond of animals. I loved all animals but couldn’t keep more than one dog then. I have looked after many cows and other animals who had been hurt in accidents.”

Rita looks after the mining and steel plants of Mesco Steel. “The aviation part is looked after by another group. I also look after other mining areas in different parts of India. I haven’t done engineering, I  feel it doesn’t matter if you are a science or arts graduate as long as you learn on the job and have thorough knowledge about the industry,” she adds.

A lady on a mission to save animals, Rita is driven about spreading the message about stopping cruelty to animals in India. She says, “There is a lot of ignorance, including in big cities like Delhi. I would like people to be closer to animals and the environment.”

Talking about the facilities in Krishna Ashram, she says “We have 45 people looking after these animals, and eight doctors and vets. We have two operation rooms, a lab for blood testing and X-ray, a post-operative care system and doctors are available till 10 pm at night. We are going to make our lab more advanced. Apart from this we have CSR in Orissa where we are running a steel plant. We have schools for which we are providing buses, uniforms and shoes, and providing water to many villages. We also plant a lot of trees and provide education to women in various things, especially stitching.”

Looking ahead she says, “In business, it is easy to find a successor and to find someone who is administrative, but to find someone who has a natural love for animals is very difficult. I would like to expand in a way that is very ethical. Veterinary science is growing in a big way in India but what is most essential is people loving and being compassionate to animals.”