To hell with the lions?

 

 

The famous Asiatic Lions residing in the Gir Sanctuary and National Park will soon have an additional home, if all goes as planned. The Central government has given the green signal for developing a sanctuary in the plains below the Girnar mountains, adjacent to Gir.

The sprawling forest area includes the Girnar plains, a 1,200 square km piece of flat land. The Gujarat government will make an official announcement soon in this regard.

Forest department officials say that there are 22 lions in Girnar. These figures are said to be conservative. Other estimates put the number of lion figure at 32. According to forest officials, Asiatic lions in the Girnar plains have been recorded for the past four generations, implying they have the desired comfort level. Now, it is the responsibility of the Forest Department to protect them.

Bharat Pathak, Conservator of Forest, Gir Sanctuary and National Park told TSI, “Girnar plains were indeed used by Asiatic lions as their home many decades ago. But for some reasons they abandoned these areas. Now, they are back in these plains. It is like coming home for these lions.” Mayank Sharma, Conservator of Forest, Girnar Range, told TSI: “The Girnar mountain plains have the ideal geographic conditions for Asiatic lions. They have used this area as a habitat for many years and now its being declared a sanctuary will help immensely in their conservation.”

The Girnar forest range is spread in a triangle between Visavadar, Bordevi, and the Hasanpur dam through Visavadar, comprising two districts of Gujarat, Amreli and Junagadh. Apart from lions, there are an estimated 150 panthers and 250 different species of birds. In the past, environmentalists have lobbied hard to get Girnar declared a sanctuary.

But there are some hard decisions ahead. The proposed sanctuary has within it at least 26 big and renowned places of pilgrimage, in addition to numerous small temples.

Officials say that in a sanctuary, devotees are not allowed night halts. The current ban on night stay at the Kankai temple, which comes under Gir’s protected area, is hardly observed. So what happens to the rest?

Potentially, it is a flashpoint. Some religious heads are already breathing fire. Mahant Gopalanandji, President, Bharat Sadhu Samaj, warns: “If the government does not stop harassing sadhus and devotees, we will take tough action.” Motapir Bawa, head, Girnar Sadhu Mandal, told TSI: “There is a lot of forest which can be developed as sanctuary. Why Girnar?” But support too has come from some quarters, like Bharti Bapu, founder of Bhavnath Bharti: “The Gujarat Government has initiated development of Girnar. It is our responsibility to co-operate them.” For the moment though, the government is going ahead with its plans.