Dogs in this Indian village are 'millionaires'

We have heard of know the saying 'every dog has its day' but these dogs in Gujarat's Panchot village, near Mehsana, are implied owners of land that could fetch them millions!
There are 70-odd dogs proudly living a life in this village which most would envy of.  Thanks to the village's long history of jivdaya (compassion for animals) - a tradition where richer families donate a piece of land and the income from the land is in turn utilised for these canines.
The price of the donated land today stands at Rs 3.5 crore per bigha ( 1 bigha is roughly 4 acres). And, the donated land now is a sprawling 21 bighas property which belongs to the 'Madh ni Pati Kutariya Trust', an informal village body that administers assets donated for welfare of dogs, according to a report in The Times of India.  

Hence, if these dogs could own a share of land then each dog could easily 'have' over Rs 1 crore (Dh565,268 approx)!

Speaking about the concept of 'kutariyu' (land donated for the welfare of dogs), Chhaganbhai Patel, president of the trust said, "The tradition started with richer families donating a piece of land that was not easy to maintain. At that time, land did not cost much. In a few cases, land was donated as the owners could not afford to even pay tax and the donation shifted the responsibility."

Patel pointed out that all the land came to the trust at least 70 years ago and a group of Patel farmers - notably Prabha Lallu, Chatur Viha, Amtha Kalu and Lakha Sheth, started the administration of the land about 80 years ago.

How land reaps benefits for canines?

Every year, each plot of the donated land is put up for auction before the sowing season and the highest bidder gets tilling rights for a year. The money then goes into sustaining the system.

Dashrath Patel, one of the descendants of the families that had donated 1.5 bigha for the cause, said the village feels proud for this system. "One of the reasons could be the religious nature of the population," said Dashrath, who is the husband of the current sarpanch, Kantaben.

Proudly speaking the compassionate nature of the villagers, Dashrath said that currently 15 persons have taken the responsibility of feeding rotla (pearl millet flatbread) to the dogs. "Even the flour mill owner doesn't charge us," he said.

Bread is prepared fresh daily

In 2015, the trust constructed a special building, known as 'rotla ghar', where rotlas are prepared by two women. They make 80 rotlas every day with 20-30kg flour. Volunteers load a handcart with rotlas and crushed flatbread, and start off the distribution drive at about 7.30pm. "It takes about an hour to complete a round of 11-odd spots where there are stray dogs," said Govind Patel, 35, one of the volunteers. "Twice a month - on full moon and new moon days - we also serve laddoos to the dogs," Govind added.

Why only dogs, these volunteers feed birds and there an air-conditioned burns ward for cows. It has different units for birds, monkeys and other animals.

• India