उसे हमारा और हमें उनका भरोसा है,

उसे हमारा और हमें उनका भरोसा है,

उना के जुड़ वडली गाव में शेरनी बच्चे समेत किसान परिवार के खेत में दो महीने से रहती है

जी न्यूज़ संवाददाता हनीफ खोखर की एक खास रिपोर्ट,

जूनागढ़, गुजरात. १२ अप्रैल २०११

कहेते है के किसी भी जंगली जानवर और इन्सान आसपास में और एक साथ रहते है तो उनके बिच दोस्ती का रिश्ता कायम हो जाता है, फिर वोह चाहे सब से खूंखार जानवर क्यों न हो, जी हा ऐसा ही एक किस्सा सामने आया है गुजरात के गिर के जंगल के इलाके में जूनागढ़ जिले के उना तहशील के जुड वडाली गाव के एक किसान के खेत में एक शेरनी ने पिछले दो महीने डेरा डाला हुवा है,

क्यों की इस शेरनी ने खेत में तिन बच्चो को जन्म दिया है वैसे तो बच्चोवाली शेरनी ज्यादा गुस्सेइली और हमलावर बन जाती है मगर किसान के परिवार को न तो शेरनी शे कोई डर है और न तो शेरनी को किसान परिवार से कोई डर है क्यों की शेरनी पिछले दो महीनो से खेत में अपने बच्चो को साथ रह रही है और बच्चो को बडा कर रही है

गुजरात के जूनागढ़ जिले के उना तहेशील के जुड़ वडली गाव के सरपंच कांतिभाई लवजीभाई उकानी के खेत में एक अजीबो गरीब सामने आया है, कांतिभाई उकनी के खेत को एक शेरनी ने दो महीनो से अपना आशियाना बना लिया है, क्यों की शेरनी ने इस खेत में तिन बच्चो को जन्म दिया हुवा है, हैरत की बात यह है की जब भी शेरनी बच्चे को जन्म देती है तब बच्चो की सुरक्षा के लिये ज्यादा गुस्सेइली और हमलावर बन जाती है, इंसानों से ठीक अपने परिवार से भी दूर चली जाती है मगर, यहाँ शेरनी और उनके ३ छोटे छोटे बच्चे किसान कांतिभाई उकानी के परिवार के साथ घुल मिल के रह रहे है, कांतिभाई उकानी के बच्चे महक और आदर्श और उनके दोस्त का बेटा प्रीत हर रोज शेर के बच्चो के आस पास खेलते रहते है, मगर शेरनी कभी भी किसी पर हमला नहीं करती, हा. एक दुरी जरुर बनाई रखनी पड़ती है, मगर फिर भी शेरनी खुछ नहीं करती और यह सब पिछले दो महीनो से चलता है, अब तो बचे बड़े होने लगे है फिर भी शेरनी बच्चो को लेकर खेत में इधर उधर घुमती रहती है, बच्चे कहते है हमें शेरनी के छोटे छोटे प्यारे बचो के सामने खेलना बहोत अच्छा लगता है,

जुड़ वडली गाव के सरपंच कान्ति भाई का खेत बिल कुल गाव के पास में ही है और गिर के जंगल से बहोत ही करीब है ९० बीघा के इस खेत में गन्ना की खेती है और केशर आम का भी बड़ा बगीचा है इस लिए शेरनी पूरा दिन आम के पेड़ के निचे आराम करती रहती है और बच्चे अपनी मासे मस्तिय करते खेलते रहते है रात को बच्चो को गन्ने के खेत में छिपा कर शिकार करने के लिए चली जाती है, क्यों के इस इलाके में तेंदुवे की भी बड़ी आबादी है इस लिए शेरनी को तेंदुवे से भी बच्चो को बचाना पड़ता है, इसी लिए तो दो महीने से इस खेत को ही अपना आशियाना बना लिया है, महेमन बनी इस शेरनी को भी विश्वास हो चूका है की उनके बच्चे इसिही जगह सुरक्षित है, इतना ही नहीं शेरनी जब भी शिकार के लिए आसपास में जाती है तब बच्चो को अकेला छोड़कर जाती है, कांतिभाई उकानी का परिवार और गाव के लोग शेरनी का बहोत ही ख्याल रहते है, इस खेत के मालिक कांतिभाई का कहेना है की जब से शरनी हमारी महेमन बनी है तब से खेत में भरी नुकसान हो रहा है, कोई भी अकेला खेत में जा नहीं सकता, क्यों के शेरनी कहा होती है उसका कोई पता नहीं चलता, कभी गलती से आमना सामना हो जाये तो शेरनी बच्चो की सुरक्षा की खातिर हमला भी करसकती है, इस लिए खेत के अन्दर फसलो को पानी पिलाने के लिए या दुसरे कामो के लिए हमने जाना बंध कर दिया है, हमारा नुकशान चाहे कितना भी हो मगर हम नहीं कहते की शेरनी हमारे खेत से चली जाये हम कहते है की शेरनी हमेशा हमेशा के लिए यहाँ रहे और उनके बच्चो को बड़ा करे.

यह घटना पहेलिबर नहीं हुई इस खेत में पहेले भी कई बार शेरनी जंगल छोड़कर बच्चो को जन्म देने के लिए आई है, कांतिभाई के पिता लवजीभाई और उनके ८० साल के बुजुर्ग पिता भवानभाई तो २४ घंटे खेत में ही रहते है उनपर भी कभी शेरनी ने हमला नहीं किया, भवानभाई का कहेना है की यह सिल सिला कई साल से चला आ रहा है, शेरनीया हर साल हमारे खेत में और आसपास के इलाके में बच्चे को जन्म देने को आती है, शेरनी खेत में बच्चो को छोड़ कर आसपास में मवेशिका शिकार करने चले जाती है और बच्चे यहाँ खेलते रहते है, और में उनकी देखभाल करता हु, हमें उनसे कोई डर नहीं लगता क्यों की हमें उसका भरोसा है उसको हमारा भरोसा है

गिर का जंगल दुनिया का अकेला जंगल है जहा एशियाई शेर का निवास हे, गुजरात के इस गिर के जंगल में 2010 में शेरो की हुई आखरी गिनती के अनुसार कुल मिलके 411 शेर है और पिछली मेटिंग शीजन में 30 % शेरनी गर्भवती थी उनमे से ज्यादातर शेरनी ने दो से तिन बच्चो को जन्म दिया है, एशियाटिक शेरो के बारे जानकर हनीफ खोखर का कहेना है की वैसे तो शेरनीया शेरो के जुंड (प्राइड) के साथ में ही रहेती हे मगर जब उसको बच्चो को जन्म देना होता है तब शेरनी अपने जुंड से अलग हो जाती है और शेरनिया बच्चो को ऐसी जगा जन्म देने चली जाती हे जिस जगह के बारे में कोई भी जंगली जानवर को पता न चले या किसी को भी शेरनी और बच्चो के बारे में कोई भनक तक न हो इस तरह से दूर दराज के इलाको में या ऐसे खेतो जैसी सुरक्षित जगहों पर ही रहेकर बच्चो को बड़ा करती है, जबतक बच्चे बड़े न हो जाये तब तक शेरनिया अपने जुंड से अलग ही रहती हे, नहीं तो अपने ही जुंड के शेर या दूसरी शेरनिया ही बच्चो को मार देता है या तो तेंदुवे, लकड़ बघ्घे जेसे जंगली जानवर मार देते है. इसी लिए शेरनिया जंगल के बाहरी इलाको में चली जाती है,

इस अनोखी घटना के बारेमे जब वन विभाग को पता चला तो गिर फोरेस्ट सेंचुरी के प्रिंसिपल चीफ वाइल्ड लाइफ कंजरवेटर आर. एल. मीणा ने ख़ुशी जाहिर करते हुवे कहा की गिर के शेरो की सुरक्षा तो यहाँ के गाव के लोग और मलधारी कर रहा हे लोगो को तेंदुवे से दर जरुर लगता है मगर शेर से कोई खतरा नहीं हे, शेर भी इंसानों का ख्याल रख रहे है और इसी लिए गिर में शेरो की संख्या बढ़ी है, कांतिभाई और उनके परिवार की तारीफ करते हुवे मीणा ने कहा की यह किसान परिवार शेरनी और उनके बच्चो की अच्छी सुरक्षा कर रहा हे इस लिए हम यह कहते है की अय्से लोगो को प्रोत्साहन देने के लिए वन विभाग द्वारा उनको सन्मानित करने का सोच रहे है क्यों के गुजरात वन विभाग के कर्मचारी तो शेरो की सुरक्षा का जिम्मा उठाते ही हे मगर असलमे शेरो की सुरक्षा यहाँ के लोग ही कर रहे हे यही सब से बड़ी ख़ुशी की बात है.

जूनागढ़ जिले के उना तहेशील का यह जुड़ वडाली गाव गिर के जंगल के बहोत ही करीब है और और श्र के जुंड अक्षर इस इलाके में आते रहते है मगर शेर कभी भी किसी पर हमला नहीं करते दूसरी और यहाँ के लोग भी शेर से इतना घुल मिल गए है की शेर को छेड़ना तो एक तरफ शेरो का संरक्षण करते है, कभी कभा शेर और इंसानों का अचानक आमना सामना हो जाता है तब हमले की घटना बनती है मगर ऐसे किस्से बहुत ही कम सामने आये है, ज्यादातर तो इसी किस्से की तरह शेर और इंसानों के बिच दोस्ती के किस्से ही मशहूर हुवे है, इस सच्ची कहानी में भी इन्सान और जंगली जानवर के बिच प्यार और निर्भयता साफ दिखे देती है. और इन्ही वजह से गुजरात के इस गिर के जंगल में शेर सुरक्षित है और उनकी संख्या बढ़ रही है,

`Jurassic Park` coming up in Gujarat

Ahmedabad: A dinosaur fossil park will soon come up at Kheda district`s Rayoli village which was once hom

e to a large population of the species.
Some 1,000 fossilised eggs of the extinct species have been found at the site, at Rayoli village in Balasinor, some 85 km from here, which is now being developed as a `dinosaur tourism` destination.
The site is governed by the Gujarat Ecological and Research Foundation. "Balasinor dinosaur fossil park is a unique site, just like flamingo city of Kutch or Asiatic lion sanctuary at Sasan Gir. We are working hard to develop these places and turn them into international attractions," Tourism Minister Jaynarayan Vyas said.

The dinosaur fossils were first discovered at Rayoli in 1981 by the Geological Survey of India. A year later, approximately 1,000 dinosaur eggs were discovered, making this place famous among the palaeontologists.

Scientists say that at least seven species of dinosaur once roamed here; the fossils are estimated to be around 65 million years old.

Vyas said it was widely believed that this place was a part of the `Shiva crater` that was formed millions of years ago by a meteor crash. The meteor crash, and the later volcano eruptions devastated this area, scientists believe.

The state government has provided a grant of Rs six crore for the development of fossil park; the work is currently on.

Gujarat government invited a group of 50 palaeontologists to explore the site in 1997. Since then, a large number of palaeontologists have visited the area.

PTI

Asia's last lions lose conservation funds to tigers

Asia's last lions lose conservation funds to tigers
Jeremy Hance
mongabay.com
January 24, 2011

Gir lions become more popular with tourists, but threaten livestock of adjacent villages.

The last lions of Asia and the final survivors of the Asiatic lion subspecies (Panthera leo persica) are losing their federal conservation funding to tiger programs, reports the Indian media agency Daily News & Analysis (DNA). While the Asiatic lion once roamed Central Asia, the Middle East, and even Eastern Europe, today the subspecies survives only in India's Gir Forest National Park in the north-western state of Gujarat.

"We are unable to understand why the central government is being so tightfisted with lions when the tigers are being allocated huge amounts regularly. Though the state government has enough allocated funds for now under the Lion Conservation Society of India, several mega projects are on hold," a senior forest official explained to DNA.

The lion population has been increasing and today numbers 411 individuals, whereas India's tiger population continues to plunge due to poaching and habitat loss. Last year, the Chinese year of the tiger, brought global media attention to the plight of tiger's worldwide, while the world's last population of Asiatic lions remains largely unknown.

However, that may be changing. Last year saw visitors to Gir Forest National Park increase by 55% after the state of Gujarat effectively promoted tourism.

Still, India appears—perhaps due to international pressure to save its tigers—to have selected tiger programs over lion conservation.

"The lions are safe in Gujarat and multiplying. We were impressed by the way Gujarat dealt with the poaching problem. The forest dwellers in Gir are tolerant towards the big cat, while the tiger is being killed in other states. That is a burning problem," a source told DNA.

Even though lion poaching and poisoning has lessened, as top predators Asiatic lions are quite capable of causing considerable distress to adjacent villages. A report byNTD television states that local villagers are in 'constant fear' of the lions, which frequently kill local livestock.

Given its tiny population and the fact that it survives in a single location, the Asiatic lion continues to be threatened by in-breeding, disease, fires, and illegal mining. As well, conflict with villagers continues, and lions have been poached and poisoned in the past. The subspecies is listed as Endangered by the IUCN Red List.


Young male Asiatic lion. Photo by: Madhusudhan Nanjappa.

NTD's report on livestock kills by the Gir Forest's lions. By Hanif khokhar ANI Gujarat.

GUJARAT SETS UP TASK FORCE TO CHECK ILLEGAL MINING

GUJARAT SETS UP TASK FORCE TO CHECK ILLEGAL MINING

AHMEDABAD | JAN 21, 2011

The Gujarat government has informed the High court that it has formed a special task force (STF) and grievance redressal committees at state and district levels to check illegal mining in the state.

Information regarding this was placed in form of an affidavit before the division bench of Chief Justice S J Mukhopadhaya and Justice Akil Kureshi, while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) against illegal mining in Gir forest region that was filed by RTI activist Amit Jethva few days before he was shot dead.

The court in its order of December 21 last year had directed the Principal Secretary, Mines and Minerals Department, to remain present and had also ordered government to file an action taken report (ATR) with regard to implementation of Gujarat Mineral (Prevention of Illegal Mining, Transportation and Storage) Rules, 2005.

Following the order, Principal Secretary Maheshwar Sahu remained present before the court and the

government also filed an affidavit along with ATR.

According to the affidavit, government has formed a special task force and grievance redressal committee at state and district levels through a notification dated January 17.
The government further said that it will hold police officers, revenue officers and officers of Geology and Mining department of the concerned area accountable and liable for negligence if there was detection of illegal mining activities in their area.
The state government has further said that round the clock control room has been set up to receive complaints about illegal mining. Besides, incentive in form of cash award for informers was also in force.

During previous hearing in December last the court had said that it was not convinced with the government's actions to stop illegal mining in Gir region.

It had further said that the law against illegal mining was there since long but such activities have been rampant in the Gir region, as stated in its own affidavit filed in the court.

The PIL against illegal mining in Gir forest region was filed by Jethva a few days before he was shot dead opposite the High Court on July 20, 2010. After Jethva's death the court had included his younger brother Bhavani and uncle Vijay Rathod as petitioner in the PIL.

Jethva's father Bhikalal Jethva had alleged that BJP MP from Junagadh, Dinu Solanki was behind the murder of his son as he had filed a PIL against illegal mining.

Bhikalal has also filed petition in the High Court demanding investigation into his son's death by CBI or any other independent agency.

The Ahmedabad crime branch, probing Jethva's murder has arrested six persons including Pratap alias Shiva Solanki, nephew of BJP MP from Junagadh Dinu Solanki.

http://news.outlookindia.com/item.aspx?709277

“Our hearts are broken after his death,” Balubhai shocha

January 23, 2011

Lynsey Addario for The New York Times Balu Bhai Socha, an environmental advocate, said that he now thought twice before challenging powerful interests and that he wondered if the risks were worth it.

Bhikhubhai Jethwa sifts through photographs of his son,

January 23, 2011

Lynsey Addario for The New York Times Bhikhubhai Jethwa sifts through photographs of his son, Amit, who was killed after filing a lawsuit to stop an illicit, multimillion-dollar limestone mine run by powerful local politicians.

January 22, 2011

High Price for India’s Information Law

By LYDIA POLGREEN

Lynsey Addario for The New York Times

A man herded sheep on land in the Gir Forest that had been torn up by illegal limestone mining.

KODINAR, India -- Amit Jethwa had just left his lawyer's office after discussing a lawsuit he had filed to stop an illicit limestone quarry with ties to powerful local politicians. That is when the assassins struck, speeding out of the darkness on a roaring motorbike, pistols blazing. He died on the spot, blood pouring from his mouth and nose. He was 38.

Related

• Times Topic: India

Mr. Jethwa was one of millions of Indians who had embraced the country's five-year-old Right to Information Act, which allows citizens to demand almost any government information. People use the law to stop petty corruption and to solve their most basic problems, like getting access to subsidized food for the poor or a government pension without having to pay a bribe, or determining whether government doctors and teachers are actually showing up for work.

But activists like Mr. Jethwa who have tried to push such disclosures further -- making pointed inquiries at the dangerous intersection of high-stakes business and power politics -- have paid a heavy price. Perhaps a dozen have been killed since 2005, when the law was enacted, and countless others have been beaten and harassed.

In many of these cases, the information requested involved allegations of corruption and collusion between politicians and big-money business.

"Now that power people are realizing the power of the right to information, there is a backlash," said Amitabh Thakur, an activist and police official who is writing a book about people killed for demanding information under the law. "It has become dangerous."

India may be the world's largest democracy, but it remains dogged by the twin legacies of feudalism and colonialism, which have often meant that citizens are treated like subjects. Officials who are meant to serve them often act more like feudal lords than representatives of the people.

The law was intended to be a much-needed leveler between the governors and the governed. In many ways it has worked, giving citizens the power to demand a measure of accountability from bureaucrats and politicians.

When the law was passed, Mr. Jethwa, a longtime activist who nursed a lifelong grudge against those who abused official power, immediately seized upon it as a powerful new tool.

His objective was to stop illegal quarries near the Gir National Park, 550 square miles of scrubland and deciduous forest near his hometown, along the southern coast of Gujarat, India's most prosperous state. The preserve is the only remaining habitat of the rare Asiatic lion. The animal is featured on the national emblem of India, and is considered by Hindus to be a sacred incarnation of Lord Vishnu.

But the forest sits in a mineral-rich area of coastal Gujarat dotted with cement factories that churn out building materials to fuel India's near double-digit economic growth. The limestone that lies just beneath the soil in and around the Gir Forest is an ideal component of cement. By law, the forest and a three-mile boundary around it are off limits to all mining activity. But quarries the size of several football fields have been cut deep into the earth in the protected zone.

This mining has had serious consequences not only for the forest preserve, but also for water used for drinking and farming. The thirsty limestone is a natural barrier between seawater and fresh groundwater. A recent state government report concluded that limestone mining had allowed seawater to flow into the aquifer, causing an "irreversible loss."

Balu Bhai Socha, an environmental advocate who worked with Mr. Jethwa, said the pace of mining rapidly increased as the local economy boomed.

"The speed with which the illegal mining was going on, we realized, within 10 years they will clean out the whole forest," Mr. Socha said.

Mr. Jethwa repeatedly filed information requests to unearth the names of those operating the quarries and to see what action had been taken against them. He discovered there were 55 illegal quarries in and around the preserve. One name stood out among the records of land leases, electricity bills and inspection reports: Dinubhai Solanki, a powerful member of Parliament from the Bharatiya Janata Party, which governs Gujarat.

Mr. Solanki, who had risen from the State Legislature to Parliament, was a local kingmaker and an imperious presence. He had the backing of the local police and bureaucrats, activists here said. Mr. Jethwa and many others suspected that he was the mastermind and principal beneficiary of the illegal mining operation.

In February 2008, Mr. Jethwa was attacked by a gang of men on motorbikes. He was beaten so badly that he had to be hospitalized. He immediately suspected Mr. Solanki.

"If someone attacks me, or kills me in an accident, if my body is injured -- for these acts the Kodinar MLA Dinu Solanki will be responsible," he wrote in a letter to Gujarat's chief minister, Narendra Modi, after the attack.

His father begged him to stop.

"I cautioned him several times about the danger," the elder Mr. Jethwa said. "But he used to say: 'Forget that you have three sons and say you have two sons. Let me do my work.' He would say, 'My religion is rule of law.' "

Lynsey Addario for The New York Times

Balu Bhai Socha, an environmental advocate, said that he now thought twice before challenging powerful interests and that he wondered if the risks were worth it.

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Lynsey Addario for The New York Times

Bhikhu Jethwa sifts through photographs of his son, Amit, who was killed after filing a lawsuit to stop an illicit, multimillion-dollar limestone mine run by powerful local politicians.

Mr. Jethwa's information requests found sheaves of correspondence between forestry officials and local bureaucrats showing that despite repeated efforts to shut down the quarries, the practice continued.

By last June, he felt that he had amassed enough evidence to file a lawsuit to stop the mining. He filed the papers on June 28. On July 20, late at night, he was gunned down, leaving behind a wife and two children.

Because of his activism and the place where he died, practically on the doorstep of the state high court, political pressure forced an unusually swift investigation. Detectives used cellphone records to link Shiva Solanki, the nephew of Dinubhai Solanki, to the killing, and he has been charged with conspiracy and murder. He is accused of hiring a contract killer to murder Mr. Jethwa.

But few people believe that Shiva Solanki, who works for his uncle, could have carried out and paid for a contract killing on his own.

Anand Yagnik, a prominent human rights lawyer in Gujarat, said that the police had made no effort to investigate Mr. Solanki.

"The message that has gone out is that if you resort to your right to information to try to harass a political person, even after your murder, that man will go scot-free," Mr. Yagnik said, seated below a portrait of Gandhi in his basement law office in Ahmedabad.

The police did not respond to repeated requests for comment on the investigation into Mr. Jethwa's death. Mr. Solanki told reporters at his office here that because the case was under investigation he would not answer questions.

"You are welcome to sit here, have a cup of tea," he said. "I will not say a word."

Mr. Jethwa's death has sent a chill through the community of activists here. Mr. Socha, the environmental activist, said that he now thought twice before challenging powerful interests and that he wondered if the risks were worth it.

"Our hearts are broken after his death," Mr. Socha said. "You cannot fix the system. Everybody is getting money. If I give my life, what is the point?"

Hari Kumar contributed reporting.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/23/world/asia/23india.html