Porbandar adopts whale shark as city mascot

Thousands of people along the coast of Porbandar pledge to protect Vhali, the whale shark, and adopt it as the city mascot.

As cloud-bearing monsoon winds brought the sea crashing on the Chowpatty beach in Porbandar, thousands of colourfully clad men, women and children stood up with their arms raised and pledged to protect Vhali, the whale shark. Led by the president of the Porbandar Nagarpalika, Mrs Jeeviben Shiyal, who belongs to the Kharwa community of fishermen, thousands of people vowed to welcome Vhali to their shores and ensure its well-being.

HT Image

In a first of its kind, the Porbandar Nagarpalika adopted the whale shark as its mascot with Mrs Shiyal publicly signing the declaration and holding it forth for the people to see. "I have spoken to the collector, Mrs Sheila Benjamine, and we have decided to erect a statue of the whale shark on the Porbandar beach for everyone to see and know," she said.

The campaign to spread awareness about the world's largest fish, which was till recently being hunted along the Gujarat coast for export, is being spearheaded by the Wildlife Trust of India and its partner, the International Fund for Animal Welfare and is being supported by two major corporate houses with units in the state: the Gujarat Heavy Chemicals Limited and Tata Chemicals Limited.