The Messiah For Thirsty Street Dogs Is The Pioneer Of The Orange Bucket Project

Nikhil Bhat, a young man in his early 20’s, has earned a new name - Messiah. No, it’s not because he has been blessed with a divine vision or taken a religious path but simply because he has been looking after thirsty stray dogs in Margao.
Nikhil, a Quality Assurance Engineer at Persistent Systems, is the pioneer of the Orange Bucket Project. Volunteers who are a part of this noble project carry a bucket of water in their vehicles and look for street dogs in different localities. This bucket is kept on the side by the road so that it is easily accessible to the street dogs. Once the dogs have had their fill, the bucket is then placed in a new locality for an encore with other thirsty dogs. This activity is performed once a week for one hour. Nikhil himself rides around the streets in Gogol looking for thirsty dogs. At present, water is provided every Tuesday from 6.30 am - 7:30 am.

When the project started in February, Nikhil states, there were 4 dogs that drank the water when offered to them. Over the months, the street dogs have become a little more accepting and at present, there are between 28 - 70 dogs that drink water from the buckets of the Orange Bucket volunteers.

Nikhil would love the project to happen all through the week and not be restricted to being a once a week activity. However, the non-availability of the resources, especially volunteers on a daily basis, is a massive constraint. The volunteers who are a part of the project are full time working professionals who carry out the activity at Gogol, Housing Board Colony, Old Chowgule College, Vidyanagar and Monte Hill, Aquem. At present, Nikhil is looking for volunteers who can work full time for the cause and can expand the initiative to more areas in Margao and gradually to other parts of Goa.

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