Lion deaths: Ahmed Patel writes to PM Modi, suggests measures to tackle situation

The move comes following the death of 23 Gir lions in the last three weeks.

Asking Modi “to not neglect the lions of Gujarat and treat them with the same importance given to tigers’’, Patel said, “Being a fellow Gujarati, you are equally aware that Gir lions are an integral part of Gujarati Asmita’’. He reminded Modi that “Gir forest is the only abode of Asiatic lions’’.

Patel said: “While, on the one hand, we have a thriving pharmaceutical industry and the government speaks about Make in India, but on the other, the forest department is forced to import vaccines from America. There is a huge shortage of medicines and trained veterinary doctors in the Gir forest. There is not a single intensive care ambulance for the lions at Gir’’.

Patel also suggested to extend the eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) up to 10 km from the current 0.5 km for long-term conservation of the Asiatic lions. He pointed out that limiting the ESZ up to 0.5 km had caused “unwarranted interference in the eco-system of lions’’.

Patel also demanded to control the mushrooming of resorts near the lion sanctuary irrespective of its ownership because, he said, resorts posed serious menace to the safety and survival of lions.

At least 23 lions, all from a single area in Gir forest, have died over the past three weeks due to various reasons, prime among them is Canine Distemper Virus (CDV) and Protozoa infection.