No public safari on Apr. 8 and 9; three helipads being constructed at Melukamanahalli Gate
Mysore/Mysuru: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will go on a safari inside the Bandipur Tiger Reserve in Chamarajanagar District during his visit to the poll-bound Karnataka on Apr. 9.
Modi will be in Mysuru to launch a three-day mega event on Apr. 9 to mark the completion of 50 years of Project Tiger and showcase India’s tiger conservation success globally. He will also release the recent tiger census report, the Government’s vision for tiger conservation and would also launch a coin to commemorate the event.
Sources said that PM Modi will arrive at the Bandipur Tiger Reserve after attending the programme in Mysuru. The forest authorities have taken up repair works on roads in the Reserve and three temporary helipads are being built at the Melukamanahalli Gate (safari point) near Bandipur.
Bandipur Project Tiger and Reserve Director Ramesh Kumar told Star of Mysore this morning that the PM is likely to visit the Tiger Reserve and hectic preparations are on. “Things are not clear as of now and the Special Protection Group (SPG) that protects the Prime Minister will take a call on the visit and the safari,” he said.
Senior officers and security agencies have begun arriving in Bandipur to take stock of the situation and over 1,500 Policemen will be deployed to throw a security blanket. Sources said that there will be no safari on Apr. 8 and Apr. 9 following the PM’s visit due to security reasons.
Sources said that the PM will arrive in Mysuru on Apr. 8 and after an overnight stay, he will inaugurate the three-day event on Apr. 9. Though the Senate Hall of the University of Mysore and the KSOU Convocation Hall are on the list of the venues for the PM’s event, the venue has not been finalised yet.
Elephant rescuers to be honoured
At Bandipur, PM Modi will also felicitate the staff who had recently rescued a wild elephant which had suffered an electric shock.
It may be recalled here that on Feb. 13, the female elephant, which was between 25 – 30 years old, had accidentally come in contact with a barbed wire electric fence on a private land near the Omkar Forest Range. Due to the impact, it lost balance and fell to the ground. Though it struggled, it could not stand on its own.
The staff and veterinarians quickly intervened, providing prompt treatment to the injured elephant including administering IV fluids and recovering medicines. The treatment lasted a few hours and the pachyderm was repeatedly goaded to stand with an earth-mover.
The rescue efforts came in for huge praises and PM Modi too appreciated the efforts of the Bandipur staff, commending their bravery and dedication in saving the elephant’s life. “Happy to see this. Compliments to the staff at Bandipur Tiger Reserve. Such compassion among our people is commendable,” Modi wrote on his Twitter handle.
Mudhumalai visit
After the Bandipur visit, the PM will proceed to Mudhumalai National Park in Tamil Nadu, where Oscar-winner ‘The Elephant Whisperers’ was filmed. It won the Best Documentary Short Film at the recent 95th Oscar Awards.
The 40-minute film by Kartiki Gonsalves follows the story of Bomman, a Kattunayakan tribe priest and his wife, Bellie, who foster orphaned elephant calves. The PM is expected to meet the documentary team and also felicitate Bomman and Bellie.
This post was published on March 31, 2023 7:56 pm