Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on his 72nd birthday, released 8 Namibian cheetahs in in quarantine enclosures of Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park today as part of his efforts to revitalise and diversify the country's wildlife and habitats at around 11.30 am
"Project Cheetah is our endeavour towards environment and wildlife conservation", PM Modi tweeted
A while ago, the specially customised jumbo jet carrying 8 cheetahs from Namibia, reached the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh. PM Modi will be releasing them shortly. After the modified Boeing 747 landed at the Gwalior airbase at 7.47 am, the felines were flown in two Air Force helicopters to Palpur near the Park.
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Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia at the Gwalior airport welcomeed the Cheetahs.
.After the plane landed at Gwalior, the ground personnel were seen helping transfer the crates, marked Live Animals, to the waiting choppers.
The aircraft, which took off from the African country Friday night, carried the cheetahs in the special wooden crates during the around 10-hour journey.
Eight cheetahs, five female and three male are brought to Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park in the cargo aircraft as part of an inter-continental translocation project.
Before their flight from Namibia, the cheetahs, the fastest land animals in the world, were treated with a tranquilizer that lasts for three to five days.
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The animals were flown to the park in Sheopur district, 165 km away from Gwalior. The journey took about 20-25 minutes, an official said.
The cheetahs remained without food during the transcontinental journey and will be given something to eat now that they have been released in the enclosures, the official said.
A dais was set up in the Park under which special cages carrying cheetahs were kept and Modi, who turned 72 on Saturday, released three of them in an enclosure by operating a lever.
Cheetaj Project: How the initiative is going to save the biodiversity and ecosystem
Cheetah was declared extinct in India in 1952. The cheetahs that would be released are from Namibia and have been brought under an MoU signed earlier this year.
The release of wild cheetahs by the prime minister in Kuno National Park is part of his efforts to revitalise and diversify India’s wildlife and its habitat, the statement said.
The introduction of cheetah in India is being done under Project Cheetah, which is world's first inter-continental large wild carnivore translocation project, the statement said.
Cheetahs will help in the restoration of open forest and grassland ecosystems in India, it said.
This will help conserve biodiversity and enhance ecosystem services like water security, carbon sequestration and soil moisture conservation, benefiting the society at large.
This effort, in line with the prime minister's commitment towards environment protection and wildlife conservation, will also lead to enhanced livelihood opportunities for the local community through eco-development and eco-tourism activities, the statement said.
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Prime Minister Modi will also participate in the SHG Sammelan that will witness the attendance of thousands of women Self Help Group (SHG) members/community resource persons that are being promoted under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM).
During the programme, Prime Minister Modi will also be inaugurating four Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) skilling centres under the PM Kaushal Vikas Yojana.
DAY-NRLM aims at mobilising rural poor households into SHGs in a phased manner and provide them long-term support to diversify their livelihoods, improve their incomes and quality of life, the statement said.
The Mission is also working towards empowering the women SHG members through awareness generation and behaviour change communication on issues like domestic violence, women’s education and other gender related concerns, nutrition, sanitation, health etc., it said.
