Mann Ki Baat: PM Modi credits community-led conservation for rise in lion numbers in Gir

New Delhi, May 25 (IANS) Addressing the nation in his monthly Mann Ki Baat programme on Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared a heartening update on India's wildlife conservation efforts, announcing a significant rise in the population of Asiatic lions in Gujarat's Gir forest.

"In just the last five years, the population of lions in Gir, Gujarat, has increased from 674 to 891. The number of lions that emerged after the lion census is very encouraging," the Prime Minister said.

He elaborated on the challenging and meticulous process behind the lion census.

"Many of you must be wondering how this animal census is conducted! This exercise is very challenging. You will be surprised to know that the Lion Census was conducted in 11 districts, in an area of 35 thousand square kilometres."

"For the census, the teams monitored these areas round the clock… twenty-four hours. Both verification and cross-verification were done in this entire campaign. This enabled the counting of lions to be completed with utmost precision," he explained.

Highlighting the community's role, PM Modi said the success of conservation reflected the power of collective responsibility.

"The rise in the population of the Asiatic Lion shows that when the sense of ownership strengthens in society, amazing results happen. A few decades ago, the situation in Gir was very challenging. But the people there came together to bring about a change," the Prime Minister said.

He also pointed to policy and technological reforms that played a key role.

"Along with the latest technology, global best practices were also adopted there. During this time, Gujarat became the first state where women were appointed as forest officers on a large scale. All these have contributed to the results we are seeing today. We will have to remain vigilant and alert like this for wildlife protection," PM Modi added.

--IANS

sd/dpb