Bhubaneswar: Dog lovers and animal rights activists from across the city came together on Sunday for a campaign to feed stray dogs.

People fed canines at locations such as Old Town, Bapuji Nagar, Unit-I, Saheed Nagar, Acharya Vihar, Nayapalli, Patia, Baramunda, Khandagiri and Patrapada.

The campaign was launched by a group of youngsters under the Animal Welfare Trust Ekamra banner. Apart from stray dogs, people also fed other strays such as cattle and cats.

Purabi Patra, animal rights activist and founder of the group, said: "We started this campaign last year and got good response from people. So we decided to continue it this year as well."

"The intention was to make people aware about how to treat animals and feed them. Be it a pet or a stray, animals are a vital part of our environment and we should be compassionate towards them."

Earlier, they started an adoption campaign for street dogs to raise awareness regarding the merits of adopting a street animal.

Reemly Mohanty, a designer who was part in the initiative, fed three stray dogs in her locality. "It's a fulfilling feeling. We should make this a regular habit," she said.

In another initiative, designer Sweta Parekh teamed up with other dog lovers and launched Roti Day to arouse care and compassion among people. Almost 100 volunteers visited every nook and corner of the city to feed stray dogs.

She also launched a dog ambulance to help and look after the medical needs of stray as well as pet dogs. The ambulance will be equipped with necessary medical equipment - surgical instruments, animal lifting, sterilizer and standing support instruments - for treatment of animals suffering from diseases or injured in accidents.

Last year, the government had started an ambulance service for animals. Two separate vehicles were deployed in Berhampur and Cuttack to provide emergency assistance to sick and injured animals.