Gujarat: Charotar schoolchildren to shed crocodile fears

VADODARA: Like most children of their age, kids in Charotar have also grown up playing snakes and ladders. But their jaws dropped when they were made to play 'crocs and ladders' and even made to walk like the reptile in a game called 'mugger ni chaal (croc's gait)'
These and many such games and competitions were a part of a unique 'Children Croc Fest' organized in Anand and Kheda districts whose wetlands are a comfortable home to at least 175 crocodiles have found a cosy home in the wetlands.
The fest organized by Voluntary Nature Conservancy (VNC) and Petli gram panchayat in Anand's Sojitra taluka was aimed at teaching children to live in harmony with these otherwise scary crawlies.
In fact, the games were centered around the theme ''Maru Gam, Mara Magar' (my village, my crocodiles).
"We had invited 250 children from class six to class eight from 14 government schools of villages like Petli, Demol, Laval, Deva, Alindra, Vaso, Malataj and Heranj - all of whom have a healthy crocodile population," said Anirudh Vasava, executive director of VNC.
'Croc Walk' or 'mugger ni chaal' was a race in which kids imitated the reptile's gait. "This was the simplest way to explain the movement of crocodiles when they are on land and in water," said Vasava. "Crocodiles have existed in our lake for over two decades. But there's been no conflict with people ever. A couple of years ago, a physically handicapped boy from our village drowned in the lake but his body was left unharmed," said Bhumi Trivedi, sarpanch of Petli gram panchayat.
During monsoon, the reptiles come out of the lake and enter into the narrow lanes of the village, having around 5,200 population. "Our youngsters are trained to live with them. They rescue the reptiles and release them in their natural habitat," she said.
"Mugger na inda' was another fun game to teach children not to touch or go near crocodile eggs, especially during the breeding season, as the reptiles are very aggressive.
Much like snakes and ladders, in the improvised 'crocs & ladders', the kids earned points if they followed safety tips and slide the ladders if they gaffe. The kids also made beautiful clay models of crocodiles.