Prime Minister Narendra Modi poses after opening the quarantine enclosure's door to release the cheetahs at Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh. (Via PM's Office)Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in an address to the nation following the release of cheetahs into quarantine enclosures in Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh Saturday, appealed for patience from the public before visiting cheetahs. PM Modi added that though India declared cheetahs extinct in 1952, it is unfortunate that no constructive efforts were made to reintroduce them for decades.
Eight cheetahs had landed in Gwalior from Namibia’s capital Windhoek at around 8 am on September 17, which was also PM Modi’s 72nd birthday. Referring to the cheetahs as ‘India’s guests’, he said that India will try its best to follow international guidelines in nurturing them. He thanked the government of Namibia for its assistance in the project.
Meanwhile, the Congress party said on Friday that the proposal for ‘Project Cheetah’ was prepared in 2008-09 and approved by the then Manmohan Singh-led UPA government. The Opposition party said that in 2013, the Supreme Court had stayed the project, before approving it in 2020, paving the way for the return of the cheetahs.
Villagers in surrounding areas of Madhya Pradesh’s Sheopur district have a variety of concerns including the fear of land acquisition and the fear of the big cat itself. Dharmendra Kumar Ojha, who runs a clothes shop, apprehended that cheetahs may enter the villages. Kailash, a labourer and resident of village Tiktoli, two km from the KNP’s entry gate, was nervous about the future. “I don’t know about benefits, but I am afraid because the cheetah has come here. Where will we go?” he wondered.
The cheetahs will fly overnight to travel during the coolest hours of the day. (Photo credit: CCF)
Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park, the new home of African cheetahs in India, has enough space and an adequate prey base to house 20 to 25 such big cats, an official has said, as the little-known wildlife sanctuary basked in its new-found global fame.
Madhya Pradesh Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife) JS Chauhan, closely associated with the cheetah reintroduction programme, expressed confidence that the translocation plan would be a great success. He said Madhya Pradesh has perfected the art of wildlife conservation and revival of animal species, citing the example of the Panna Tiger Reserve. (PTI)
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh shared a letter on Twitter which, he said, initiated 'Project Cheetah' in 2009 and accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being a "pathological liar" for criticising previous governments of not making constructive efforts to reintroduce the big cat in India.
Along with the tweet he shared the letter he, as then minister for Environment and Forests, had written to M K Ranjitsinh of the Wildlife Trust of India in 2009. In the letter, Ramesh had asked Ranjitsinh to prepare a roadmap for the reintroduction of the Cheetah and include a detailed analysis of different potential sites.
After releasing cheetahs in special enclosures at the Kuno National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told 'cheetah mitras' (friends) to protect the carnivores and ensure that human-animal conflict is avoided.
During his interaction, the prime minister told them not to allow anyone inside the KNP, including himself, until the cheetahs are acclimatized to their new habitat. The PM recalled how he had roped in villagers to protect Asiatic lions in Gir when he was the chief minister of Gujarat.
Eight cheetahs arrived in India from Namibia by a special flight on Saturday morning. Three of them were released by PM Modi in the KNP and the rest five by other leaders under the ambitious reintroduction project. The cheetahs had gone extinct in India seven decades ago. (PTI)
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying eight cheetahs have come and now he should tell why 16 crore jobs weren't created in eight years.
Prime Minister Modi turned 72 on Saturday. It was a busy day for the PM who, among other things, released eight cheetahs brought from Namibia at the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh under a landmark project seven decades after the animal was declared extinct in the country.
In a tweet in Hindi, Gandhi said, "Eight cheetahs have come, now tell why 16 crore jobs didn't come in eight years." "Yuvaon ki hai lalkar, le kar rahenge rozgaar (It is the cry of the youth that they will have employment)," the former Congress chief said, using the hashtag 'Rashtriya Berozgar Diwas'.
The Congress on Saturday claimed that in view of the "worrying" job situation in the country, the youth are marking the prime minister's birthday as "National Unemployment Day", and demanded that he provide employment to them as promised. (PTI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi turned 72 on Saturday, with greetings from leaders and other prominent personalities pouring in and admirers hailing his contribution to making a "strong and self-reliant" India.
From a 15-day blood donation drive in the country to cleanliness and tree plantation campaigns and health camps, scores of welfare activities, like in past years since 2014, were undertaken by the ruling BJP and others in various parts of the country to mark the prime minister's birthday.
It was a busy day for Prime Minister Modi, who released cheetahs brought from Namibia at the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, under a landmark project seven decades after the animal was declared extinct in the country, and also addressed several events.
“Normally I meet my mother on my birthday and seek her blessings. Today so many mothers of Madhya Pradesh have blessed me,” Modi said, addressing a large gathering of women at Sheopur (MP). The prime minister said he enjoys the blessings of “lakhs of mothers” and described women as his strength and inspiration. Modi said his mother would be mighty pleased with the outpouring of blessings from women. (PTI)
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday complimented PM Narendra Modi on bringing back the Cheetahs to India after 70 years.
Chouhan in a tweet said, "Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi has given an invaluable mantra for the balance of the earth. This will enrich the earth and human life."
"This is true 'Truth is a holy place, forgiveness is a holy place, and restraint of the senses is a holy place. Compassion for all beings is a holy place and uprightness everywhere. Have mercy on living beings, human life will be blessed," he added.
With eight cheetahs being relocated from Namibia in Africa to India’s Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh, there is hope that the translocation project for reviving India’s long-extinct cheetah population may achieve success.
In India, the native cheetah species was the Asiatic cheetah, which went extinct in 1952. Currently, only Iran has Asiatic cheetahs in the wild, numbering around 12, and the majority of the remaining 7,000-strong population of the big cats around the world is of African cheetahs – the ones that have now come to India. (Read more)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday after releasing the eight Cheetahs brought from Namibia, said that the animals are our guests and urged all Indian citizens to warly welcome them.
More from India
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi released eight African cheetahs (five females and three males) from Namibia into quarantine enclosures in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park on Saturday, a Twitter thread explaining what led to the extinction of cheetahs in India is going viral.
While sharing archival footage that shows how cheetahs were domesticated in India, Parveen Kaswan, an Indian Forest Services officer, wrote, “Historical record suggests cheetah were in least conflict with humans. Rather they were domesticated and used by hunting parties widely. Even some used to call them ‘hunting leopards’. 2/n”
One of the oldest of the big cat species, with ancestors tracing back about 8.5 million years, the Cheetah Conservation Fund, in charge of the Cheetah project on behalf of Namibia, believes that the number of Cheetahs is just under 7,500 individuals globally.
On the occasion of his 72nd birthday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday released eight African cheetahs in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park, nearly 70 years after the big cats were declared extinct in the country.
“It is unfortunate that we declared cheetahs extinct from the country in 1952, but for decades no meaningful effort was made to rehabilitate them,” PM Modi said during the launch of ‘Project Cheetah’ at Kuno National Park. “Now the country has started to rehabilitate cheetahs with new energy.”
Here’s what you need to know about the cheetah relocation project.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is celebrating his birthday, released three cheetahs in quarantine enclosures of the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh around 11.30 am. All photos via PTI.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his address to the nation by thanking the Namibia government for their cooperation in Project Cheetah.
"I thank our friendly country Namibia and the government there, with whose cooperation the cheetahs have returned to Indian soil after decades," he said in his speech in Hindi.
Continuing his address to the nation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the India of the 21st century is giving a message to the world that economy and ecology are not conflicting fields.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in an address to the nation following the release of cheetahs into Kuno National Park Saturday, said that with the arrival of the cheetahs, the nature-loving consciousness of India has also awakened with full force.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in an address to the nation following the release of cheetahs into Kuno National Park Saturday, appealed for patience from the public before visiting cheetahs.
Referring to them as 'India's guests', he said that India will try its best to follow international guidelines in nurturing them. PM Modi added that though India declared cheetahs extinct in 1952, it is unfortunate that no constructive efforts were made to reintroduce them but for decades.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in an address to the nation following the release of cheetahs into Kuno National Park Saturday, said that we lose certain things when we move away from our roots. He said that hence, we should take pride in our heritage. The PM also congratulated the citizens of India and Namibia for the successful release of the cheetahs.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in an address to the nation following the release of cheetahs into Kuno National Park Saturday, said: "Project Cheetah is our endeavour towards environment and wildlife conservation."
PM Modi has released two cheetahs into their quarantine enclosures at Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh. The cheetahs will be kept in these enclosures for the next 30 days, before being released into a larger enclosure.