Task force will decide when visitors can see cheetahs: PM Modi

The government will announce when people will be able to see the animals flown in from Namibia based on the panel’s recommendation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his monthly radio broadcast Mann Ki Baat on Sunday.

A task force set up to observe eight cheetahs released in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park will recommend when the park will be opened to the public, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his monthly radio broadcast Mann Ki Baat on Sunday.

During the 93rd edition of his address, the PM said a competition is being launched to allow people to come up with a name for the cheetah project, and name the animals.(ANI)

The government will announce when people will be able to see the animals flown in from Namibia based on the panel’s recommendation, the PM said.

“There is a lot of excitement and 1.3 billion Indians are elated, filled with pride that this is India’s love for nature,” the PM said.

“A lot of people have asked me when will they get a chance to see the cheetahs… A task force has been established to monitor the cheetahs. They will observe how the animals are adapting to the new environment and then we will take a call,” he said.

Modi released the animals in the park on September 17, on his birthday. The eight big cats, which were declared extinct in the country in 1952, have been brought in from Namibia in an intercontinental translocation project.

During the 93rd edition of his address, the PM said a competition is being launched to allow people to come up with a name for the cheetah project, and name the animals.

“A competition will be organised on MyGov platform, I urge people to share certain things… What should be the name of the campaign that we are running on cheetahs... Can we even think of naming all these cheetahs,” he said.

The names, he suggested, should be traditional and in keeping with Indian culture and heritage.

“You can also suggest how humans should treat animals. Our fundamental duties also stress on respect for animals. I appeal to you to participate in this competition and you could become the first to witness the cheetahs,” he said.

While the PM named one of the female cheetahs Asha, Hindi for hope, the Cheetah Conservation Fund, the organisation that coordinated Project Cheetah on behalf of the Namibian government, named the other four females Siyaya, Tblisi, Sasha and Savanaha. The three males are currently called Freddie, Elton and Oban.

The Prime Minister also paid tribute to Bharatiya Janata Party ideologue Deen Dayal Upadhyay, whose birth anniversary is being celebrated on Sunday, saying that the leader’s philosophy for a nation’s progress will “take the country forward”.

“His integral humanism is a thought which makes us conflict and prejudice-free. He put forth the Indian philosophy of considering all human beings as one before the world,” the PM said.

“He used to say the measure of a country’s progress is the last person in queue. During the Amritkal of Independence, it will serve as an inspiration to take the country forward,” he said in his 30-minute-long address.

The PM also said that the Chandigarh airport will now be named after Shaheed Bhagat Singh as a tribute to the great freedom fighter.

“As a tribute to the great freedom fighter, it has been decided that the Chandigarh airport will now be named after Shaheed Bhagat Singh,” said Modi. “We should draw inspiration from our freedom fighters and build the India of their dreams to pay homage to them.”

PM Modi also said that climate change is a major threat to marine ecosystems and that the litter on beaches is disturbing.

“It becomes our responsibility to make serious and continuous efforts to tackle these challenges,” he said.

The PM also renewed his call for encouraging the use of locally produced goods and said an effort must be made to create a new record in the sale of locally produced goods such as Khadi over the festive season.

He said by purchasing locally produced goods the country will strengthen the vocal for local campaign and also give the campaign for self-reliant India a fillip.