White tiger at Ballari zoo now in Rahul Gandhi’s care

HUBBALLI: Amid all the buzz in the state Congress unit over its chief ministerial probable, and away from the glare, a group of party workers from Hosapete in Vijayanagara district, decided to do something special to mark the 51st birthday of former party president and MP Rahul Gandhi.

On June 19, the president of the rural Congress youth wing from Ballari and Vijayanagara, Siddu Hallegouda, and his friends adopted a white tiger, named Arjuna, at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Zoological Park in Hampi for a period of one year in the name of Rahul Gandhi. An amount of Rs 1 lakh was also deposited with the Zoo Authority of Karnataka towards the adoption.

Former Prime Minister and Rahul’s grandmother Indira Gandhi was responsible for creating Protected Areas for tigers in India.“We were planning to do some social work to mark Rahul Gandhi’s birthday. Hence, we decided to adopt a tiger in our leader’s name as zoos are facing a fund crunch,” Hallegouda explained.

The Hampi Zoo authorities informed that the adoption process is usually done online and a certificate will be shared soon. “As the Congress leaders wished to visit the zoo and see the tiger they have adopted, permission was given for a short visit,” said a zoo official. After a recent appeal from Kannada actor Darshan Toogudeepa, who is the brand ambassador of the Karnataka Forest Department, on adopting zoo animals, several people and organisations have come forward, the official said.

“More than Rs 1 crore has been collected over the last few weeks after the actor appealed to people to adopt zoo animals in Karnataka. Most of the adoptions were from Mysuru and Bannerghatta zoo in Bengaluru,” said an official of the Zoo Authority of Karnataka.

Wildlife lovers have welcomed the increased adoption of zoo animals. “With the pandemic around and fewer people visiting zoos, maintaining the large numbers of animals becomes difficult for the authorities. During such times, adoption of animals by people and institutions gives much needed help for the zoo managements,” said Jayram R, a retired zoo official from Karnataka.