Gujarat govt had recently said that the number of lions has gone up to 600. It has allocated Rs 123 crore this year for their conservation.
222 lions died in Gir in last 2 years, many due to natural causes.
As
BJP-ruled Gujarat and Congress ruled Madhya Pradesh continue to engage
in a war of words over the lion issue, an impasse seems evident.A controversy over the translocation of Asiatic lions from Gujarat to Madhya Pradesh has once again erupted as Madhya Pradesh forest Minister Umang Singhar has demanded lions to brought from Gujarat.
During an ongoing Assembly session, the forest minister asked "why is Gujarat not sending the Asiatic lions to MP, even when the death of lions was reported in large numbers in the last two years".
"In 2013, the Supreme Court had ordered the translocation of lions to Kuno Palpur wildlife sanctuary in MP. Even after so many years, not even a single lion has been given to Madhya Pradesh," Singhar added.
In response to Singhar's demand from relocating the lions to a MP sanctuary and his statements in the Assembly, Gujarat forest minister Ganpat Vasava said, "We are working as per the Supreme Court guidelines. We have not transfered any lion yet to any state."
"The Gujarat government will study the guidelines of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) first. After studying the guidelines, the state government will decide. There are 33 criterias of IUCN for the lion translocation program like area, food, and weather," he added.
As many as 222 lions died, most of them due to natural causes, in the Gir forest region in Gujarat in the last two years, Gujarat forest minister told in the Legislative Assembly few days back.
Among them, only 23 lions died because of unnatural causes such as getting hit by trains or falling in wells between 2017 to 2019.
Vasava said that 82 lions, including 30 cubs, have died between June 2017 and May 2018 while the number of deaths stood at 140, including 60 cubs, for the June 2018 to May 2019.
As many as 34 lions had died last year due to diseases including Canine Distemper Virus (CDV), Babesia, Streptococcal bacteria and Gram negative bacilli infections, Vasava added.
As per the last census carried out in 2015, Gir had 523 big cats. The state government had recently said that the number of lions has gone up to 600. Gujarat government has allocated Rs 123 crore this year for conservation of lions.
Government takes various preventive measures, such as building parapets around wells situated near the forest, fencing railway tracks, construction of speed breakers on roads passing through the sanctuaries and continuous patrolling in order to prevent lions from dying due to unnatural causes.
On July 20, a five-year-old male Asiatic lion, who was suffering from paralysis, died due to multiple organs failure at Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad. Jeetu, the lion, was suffering from Paraplegia (paralysis of hind legs) and was being treated for the last 12 days by the veterinarians.
https://www.indiatoday.in/mail-today/story/fight-over-saving-gir-s-asiatic-lions-1573204-2019-07-25
No comments:
Post a Comment