Who was Parag Desai, the Wagh Bakri scion who died after stray dog attack?

On Sunday, Parag Desai, the executive director of the Wagh Bakri Group, passed away in an Ahmedabad’s private hospital. He was 49. According to Ahmedabad Mirror, he was attacked by stray dogs outside his residence on 15 October. He fell on the road after being pursued by stray dogs, which caused a brain haemorrhage. The report suggests a security guard outside his home informed his family about the incident, after which he was taken to Shelby Hospital. After being observed for a day, he was moved to Zydus Hospital for surgery. Condoling his demise, Rajya Sabha member Saktisinh Gohil on X, “Very sad news coming in. Parag Desai, Director and owner Wagh Bakri Tea passed away. He had a brain haemorrhage following a fall. May his soul rest in peace. My condolences to the entire Wagh Bakri family across India.”

Very sad news coming in. Parag Desai, Director and owner Wagh Bakri Tea passed away. He had a brain haemorrhage following a fall.
May his soul rest in peace. My condolences to the entire Wagh Bakri family across India. pic.twitter.com/Md0xLppL2X

— Shaktisinh Gohil MP (@shaktisinhgohil) October 22, 2023

All about Wagh Bakri director Parag Desai Parag Desai was the son of the managing director of the Wagh Bakri Tea Group, Rasesh Desai. According to company website, the fourth-generation entrepreneur of the tea conglomerate received an MBA from Long Island University, New York. He spearheaded the sales, marketing and export departments for the group. He was a respected voice in the sector and actively participated in important industry venues including the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). According to Exchange4Media, he was honoured for his accomplishment by the Ahmedabad Management Association. The outlet stated the Ahmedabad Management Association honoured him for his accomplishment. Desai was also referred to on the Wagh Bakri website as “an expert tea taster and evaluator.” He is survived by his wife Vidisha and daughter Parisha. Narandas Desai established Wagh Bakri in 1892. Currently, it distributes more than 50 million kilos of tea and has an annual revenue of Rs 2,000 crore. Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Western Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Punjab, Chandigarh, Himachal, Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal are among the states where the group is active. It has also lately expanded into Bihar, Jharkhand, and Odisha. City’s stray dog menace back in spotlight Ahmedabad records an average of six dog bites each hour, Times Now reported citing statistics for three fiscal years from 2020 to 2023 that was presented in Assembly last month. The number of bites reported by the city increased from 46,436 in 2020–21 to 50,397 in 2021–22 (an increase of nine per cent), and then to 60,330 in 2022–23 (an increase of 20 per cent). According to data for the entire state, there were 12.55 lakh dog bites in all, or 48 bites per hour on average. In Gujarat, dog attacks resulted in eight fatalities between 2020 and 2023; three deaths were reported in each of the years 2020–21, 2022–2023, and two in 2021–2022. Over 20,000 dog bites per year were reported in rural Patan, Kheda, Anand, and Mehsana in addition to Ahmedabad. The lack of attempts to reduce dog population, according to officials, has led to increased numbers in rural regions, while municipal corporations in cities have started sterilising schemes. The majority of bites in the city were reported in November and December, according to a senior Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) officer. The official further stated dog bites, which totalled 65,881 in 2019, experienced a decrease in 2020 as a result of COVID restrictions. To solve this problem, the Ahmedabad Civic Body has hired four organisations for a fee of Rs 976.50, and given them space in Danilimda and Behrampura to sterilise each dog, according to the report. How big is the problem in India According a national survey by LocalCircles published last year, 60 per cent of respondents said that dog attacks were frequent in their communities. “Only one in 10 respondents credit their local municipal corporation for effective handling stray and pet dog management,” the survey found. According to Sachin Taparia, the founder of LocalCircles, more than 31,000 people from 303 different districts in India responded to the poll. There are almost 62 million stray dogs and 9.1 million street cats in India, according to data from The State of Pet Homelessness Index. According to the Centre’s livestock census, the number of stray dogs in the nation dropped from 17 million in 2012 to nearly 16 million in 2021, correlating with roughly 1.7 million dog bite reports. Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, West Bengal, and Gujarat are the four states with the highest instances of stray dog bites, according to data presented by the Centre in Parliament during the monsoon session last year. Odisha, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan are the states with the most stray dogs, followed by Uttar Pradesh. Calls for “pro-active policy” Social media platforms were flooded with posts exposing the growing threat posed by stray dogs across the nation as soon as the cause of Desai’s death made headlines. In condolences on the well-known businessman’s demise, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi remarked that Desai’s death could have been prevented. By creating active shelters for stray animals and vaccinating them, she urged for a “pro-active policy” to deal with the threat. The Rajya Sabha member wrote on X, “We really need to have a pro active policy in place to handle the stray dog menace- active stray animal shelters especially dogs, neutering them, their vaccinations, etc. I have seen many NGOs who selflessly serve the cause but struggle due to lack of funds and local governments that have funds but not prioritising it.”

Parag Desai’s death is tragic and was avoidable. My heartfelt condolences to his family.
We really need to have a pro active policy in place to handle the stray dog menace- active stray animal shelters especially dogs, neutering them, their vaccinations etc.
I have seen many… pic.twitter.com/sM16xtm4IR

— Priyanka Chaturvedi🇮🇳 (@priyankac19) October 23, 2023

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Deepak Shenoy, CEO and founder of Capitalmid, highlighted the need to address the menace and take the stray dogs “off the streets.” Taking to the microblogging site, he said, “We do need to address the stray dog menace in India. The fear is enough reason, even if it causes people to fall and hurt their head because they’re getting attacked – the problem is pack dog behaviour. Need to take them off the streets – too many such incidents.”

We do need to address the stray dog menace in India. The fear is enough reason, even if it causes people to fall and hurt their head because they're getting attacked - the problem is pack dog behaviour. Need to take them off the streets - too many such incidents. https://t.co/ZVFjGU0st8

— Deepak Shenoy (@deepakshenoy) October 23, 2023

In a moving statement about the incident, Sudhir Mehta, chairman and managing director of Pinnacle Industries Limited, observed that in recent years, the topic has gained more polarising, critical, and heated debates. He claimed that the administration’s actions, such as moving, seizing, or neutering these stray canines, are difficult to put into action because of ongoing opposition from animal welfare organisations. “The distressing reality is that politicians who dare to address this problem face fierce backlash. This menace has spiralled out of control and is now a life-threatening crisis. It’s no longer about physical harm and the grave injuries inflicted on kids, senior citizens, and adults. What’s even more distressing is the psychological terror that citizens endure, especially during the nights,” he said.

Yesterday #ParagDesai, a personal friend, and the Executive Director of the Wagh Bakri Tea Group, tragically lost his life due to a brain hemorrhage caused by a fatal fall when he was desperately trying to escape an attack by street dogs.
The menace of stray dogs is one of the… pic.twitter.com/2ca1d7S0g3

— Dr. Sudhir Mehta (@sudhirmehtapune) October 23, 2023

“What makes this situation even more worrisome is that most stray dogs in and around #Pune are actively fed by volunteers, many of whom don’t even reside in these affected areas. The havoc these dog packs wreak and the terror they impose are nothing short of a nightmarish ordeal,” Mehta added. Further calling for a resolution action, the businessman stated that nothing justifies innocent citizens, particularly children, losing their lives or living in perpetual fear. The issue of stray dogs needs to be addressed, noted Dr Tanmay Motiwala of the Department of Paediatric Surgery at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Jodhpur in reference to the rising frequency of such assaults. “Pet love is a different thing. Even I love them but this is so terrible. Imagine being chased by stray dogs. Faced that quite a lot of times while returning in bike after late night OTs.” With inputs from agencies