Forest dept to keep eye on lions 24X7

Rajkot: The state’s forest department has launched a high-tech monitoring unit for the conservation of lions and curb illegal lion shows inside and outside the protected areas. Under this monitoring system, 250 GPS will be installed in jeeps that take tourists inside the forest areas for lion sighting from Sasan in Junagadh.
Sometimes the jeep drivers divert their vehicles from assigned routes to find big cats in other areas, if they are not easily spotted on the designated routes. Now, this diversion will not be possible as the movement of the vehicles will be monitored from the control room.
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani inaugurated this monitoring unit on Tuesday. According to a statement issued by the department, radio collars will be fitted on 100 lions, which are currently moving in the outside the forest area, especially in Amreli and Bhavnagar districts. These lions have been traced to areas near human habitation. Thus, the forest department can keep a close watch on these big cats with the help of these radio collars.
A control room is being set up to get output of all the CCTV cameras that have been installed on the check posts across the routes routes of the forest areas. The department also purchased 250 wireless sets that will be provided to its personnel in deep forest areas where mobile connectivity is very low. The department’s mid-level officers have been provided with nearly 2000 tablets to upload updates, which will help in providing real time on-field information to senior officers.