PAWS-Mumbai activist ABHIJEET RANE & SUNISH SUBRAMANIAN KUNJU meet Add. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests - Western Region (Wildlife Wing) & Chief Conservator of Forests & Director of Sanjay Gandhi National Park

BAN CATAPULTS inside SANAJY GANDHI NATIONAL PARK - SGNP | Need to ban harmful human activities inside SGNP | Need for Tigers to be kept free and not in secondary cages at Safari in SGNP

Shri. Suresh Thorat : Add. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests - Western Region (Wildlife Wing)receiving petition from PAWS-Mumbai activist Sunish Subramanian Kunju and Abhijeet Rane

(from Left to Right)

Shri. Vikas Gupta : Chief Conservator of Forests & Director of Sanjay Gandhi National Park receiving petition from PAWS-Mumbai activist Abhijeet Rane and Sunish Subramanian Kunju

(from Right to Left)

Monday 29 December 2014 : Plant & Animals Welfare Society - Mumbai (PAWS-Mumbai) activist ABHIJEET RANE & SUNISH SUBRAMANIAN KUNJU meet Suresh Thorat : Add. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests - Western Region (Wildlife Wing) and Vikas Gupta : Chief Conservator of Forests & Director of Sanjay Gandhi National Park with petition "Need to ban harmful human activities inside SGNP and Need for Tigers to be kept free and not in secondary cages at Safari" at Sanjay Gandhi National Park.

The copy of petition letter have been also send to S.S. Garbyal : Director General Of Forest & Special Secretary, Ministry for Environment & Forests, Govt. of India; Bishan Singh Bonal (Deputation) Member Secretary : Central Zoo Authority; Wildlife Crime Control Bureau - BHQ (N.D.) & Western Regional Office; Secretary : Animal Welfare Board of India; Pravin Pardeshi : Principal Secretary - Forests, Govt. of Maharashtra; Sarjan Bhagat : Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) M. S. Nagpur; Dr. V.K.Sinha : Add. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Ecotourism & Wildlife Administration; Mukharji Tapankumar G. : Asst. Chief Conservator of Forests Rule Cell.

What the PAWS-Mumbai Letter says.......

We, as a citizens of Mumbai, animal lovers and member of animal welfare group undertake regular visits to the Sanjay Gandhi National Park - SGNP. On several such visits we have realized that there are certain activities by humans which occur in its precincts which are harmful for the well-being of the animals existing there.

 

We have received a letter from Munna Yadav & Mihir Joshi which is self explanatory which we are forwarding to you. Based on this letter, PAWS-Mumbai Team visited SGNP to verify their complaints. We too observed the same, only one lion roams free and 2 Tiger's (Bengal Tiger and White Tiger) were seen in secondary cages at Safari. As per the information received from staff in Safari Queen, they are kept in secondary cages as repair work in going on. But the reality is different. On our frequent visits to SGNP, never have we observed Tigers roaming free since several years. But as per the information SGNP have around 3 Lions and 9 Tigers.

The following activities needs to be banned inside SGNP for the well-being of the forest ecosystem, for which you have the powers as the Chief Conservator of Forests & Director of SGNP :

The locals hawkers who Selling fruits, vegetables and other eatables, to prevent moneys from harassing them, use catapults to harm and shoo away monkeys. Such act of harming animals is a punishable offence under Section 11 of Prevention of Cruelty to Animal Act, 1960 and Under Section 9, 39, 40(2), 49B, 38 (J) of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

Strict vigilance upon visitors who throw left-over food (in polythene plastic bag or in its plastic cover itself) in the SGNP precincts which is harmful to the animals and also causes unhygienic conditions. 

So we request you to kindly ban the above activities inside SGNP. Such instructions should be printed on the tickets too and display boards be put up along the path. Strict penalty should be imposed upon the violators. Kindly issue a Circular to the SGNP staff members to be vigilant about such nuisance and human activities. Kindly display Notice Boards which mentions that Tigers have been kept in secondary cages and the date of completion of maintenance work so that visitors do not feel cheated.

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