Girnar Mountain Parvat Temples Ropeway Project Junagadh News Gujarat India

Girnar Ropeway Project to temple put on hold to "save" vultures.

The Center has put on hold the proposed parvat ropeway project to Gujarat's religious shrine atop Mount Girnar citing threat to the nesting of endangered vultures in the region.

The Standing Committee of National Board for Wildlife chaired by union environment minister Jairam Ramesh at a recent meeting has asked a team of conservationists to visit the site and study the impact of the proposed project before deciding its fate.

"Girnar wildlife sanctuary is the only known colony of long-billed vultures in Gujarat. If the ropeway passes through the trees housing vulture nests, it will be a disaster," Asad Rehmani, a prominent conservationist from Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and committee member, said.

He said 121 vultures (long-billed and white-beaked species vultures) were counted in the region in 2005 which have declined to 79, according to the 2007 census.

He said the environment impact assessment report submitted by a private firm Usha Breco Ltd seeking to construct the ropeway was not factually correct with particular reference to faunal diversity of the area.

The committee also observed the project seeking diversion of around seven hectares of Girnar forest land was yet to get environmental clearance.

However, the Gujarat Wildlife Department, strongly arguing in favor of the project, said it would only ease the pressure on the wildlife created by visiting devotees who currently pass through the jungle to reach the holy shrine atop Girnar Parvat, Junagadh City.

Girnar Parvat Temples Hill Mountain Lili Parikrama Junagadh City News Gujarat India

Forest dept to keep strict vigil on Girnar Parvat Lili Parikrama.

No plastics allowed. Gas cylinders to be used for cooking - no wood to be used. The forest department has laid down these guidelines to minimize environmental damage that the Girnar Lili Parikrama may cause.

More than 90,000 yatris have started the parikrama which is officially scheduled to begin on Thursday, said Junagadh collector Ashwani Kumar. Lili Parikrama, as it's known in Saurashtra Kathiyavad, is an annual circular religious tour of Girnar by devotees.

Due to the efforts of the administration, police and forest department, yatris are now more conscious about the environment and understand why it's vital to save trees and protect the jungle. In the past, there have been incidents of forest fires and complaints of pollution.

Moreover, the Nalpani Ghodi forest department has set up counting points. Because of heavy rains this year, many roads were washed away and mud slides were reported.

Forest department has cleared and repaired roads on a war footing. Chlorinated water and milk are being provided on the way. Hawkers are not permitted. Police force is also on alert to provide security.

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Girnar Temples Parvat Mountain Lili Parikrama Junagadh News Gujarat India

Enthusiasts begin Girnar Parvat Lili Parikrama ahead of schedule.

Two days before the 36-km historic Girnar Parikrama - the amazing annual religious walk when devotees tread mountainous terrain to worship at temples located in the dense forest area – will officially commence, over 50,000 enthusiasts have already started their walk uphill.

Packed trains and buses are arriving at Bhavnath, the starting point of the walk every hour. Over one lakh people have already reached Bhavnath, sources said.

"The official walk will be flagged off at 12 pm on October 29. However, eager participants have already started the walk on their own," a source at Bhavnath said. Some wish to avoid the rush of Lakhs of devotees and enjoy the three nights and four days of nature peacefully at their own pace," the source added.

Meanwhile, anticipating this, the district administration too had made arrangements by Tuesday morning. "Medical camps, water points, complete police security have all been put in place from Tuesday itself so that even early birds will get all the facilities," a district official said.

On its part, the forest department, which becomes the official host of the event, has also made all arrangements. District forest officer at Girnar Anita Karne said, "All arrangements are in place along the route from Bhavnath to Zina Bava ni Madhi to Malvela, Bordevi and back to Bhavnath.

It's the forest department's responsibility to see that the roads are made and security is maintained. We have done our best to ensure that the event goes off smoothly."

Appealing to people to conserve natural surroundings, Karne said, "We have repeatedly appealed to people to maintain cleanliness along the route. Special bins have been put up and people are requested to dispose of all solid waste in them. It's our collective responsibility to preserve the environment."

Uses of microphones by cultural groups who come to the parikrama have also been banned. "We have banned all loudspeakers since the last two years and have done our best to see that there's no noise pollution," Karne added.

Junagadh Temples City District Heritage Tourism News Gujarat India

Gujarat Government to invest Rs200 crore for heritage conservation.

Gujarat which is known for its heritage sites will invest Rs200 crore for their upkeep.

In terms of number of heritage sites per square kilometer in the country, the state is in a leading position but many of the sites are in pathetic condition.

Hence the state government is planning to invest a huge sum in improving the condition of the heritage sites that are vanishing due to neglect.

At present, a total of 202 historical monuments in Gujarat are protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and director of state archaeology department.

According to sources, the government aims to invest around Rs200 crore for developing the fast vanishing heritage monuments of the state.

Of Rs200 crore, Rs100 crore will be earmarked for developing Buddhist sites.

The government plans to promote Buddhism studies and organize an international Buddhist convention in January 2010 in Vadodara.

It also plans to develop Devni Mori-Vadnagar sites as Buddhist pilgrimage circuit by introducing specific religious tours and activities.

"At Devni Mori site, an international Buddhism hub, meditation centre, Buddhist monastery and school of learning will be started. Other Buddhist tourist sites at Junagadh City District Area, Gondal and South Gujarat will also be developed," they said.

"In the 2001 earthquake, many important heritage sites sustained damage, but most of them have not been restored fully yet.

The government aims to restore and develop these heritage sites. Development of tourist infrastructure is also needed to attract domestic and international tourists," they said.

The government has also planned to modernize and develop the state libraries and also increase the financial assistance to state and private museums.

Surendranagar Junagadh District News Samachar Gujarat India

A milk war between Amul and National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) has virtually started in Gujarat's Surendranagar district.

Unmoved by opposition that it was facing from Surendranagar District Co-operative Milk Producers Union Limited or Sursagar Dairy, one of the 13 member unions of Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) — the apex marketing body of all district co-operatives of Gujarat that markets brand Amul — NDDB on Friday started milk procurement in the district.

In fact, going on offensive, NDDB procured over 6,000 litre of milk in the morning session of Friday by paying Rs 330 per kilo fat to milk pourers (MPs), who poured milk at milk producers institutions (MPIs) even as Sursagar Dairy is presently paying Rs 320 per kilo fat to farmers that pour over 3 lakh litre per day (LLPD) milk at village-level milk societies.

For NDDB, Surendranagar is second district in Saurashtra where it has started dairy's operations as per the tripartite agreement that it had signed with Gujarat Dairy Development Corporation (GDDC) and state government in 2003.

"As per the mandate given to us by the state government, in first phase, we had refurbished and started milk procurement through our Junagadh Dairy in 2005, where we presently collect nearly three LLPD through 40,000 MPs and the dairy's processing capacity is being expanded to process six LLPD. Now, we have initiated the step to refurbish operations at Surendranagar through Saurashtra-Kutch Dairy Project," said an official from NDDB, adding that on Friday milk was collected from 65 villages, which was then transported to three bulk coolers at Chotila, Halvad and Surendranagar town each having 25,000 kilo litre capacity.

"Each MPI in these villages have data processor-based milk collection units. They are given a slip in which quantity of milk fat and remuneration that MPs will be paid is mentioned. Initially, payment will be done through village sahayaks,' but very soon it will be remitted in individual bank accounts of MPs.

This system will also help MPs get bank credit at a later date," the official said.

Reacting sharply, Sursagar Dairy's managing director Dhiraj Chaudhary criticised NDDB for adopting dual policy in pricing.

"They are paying Rs 290 and Rs 320 per kilo fat in Kutch and Junagadh districts to farmers, but here they are paying Rs 330 to farmers. This reflects their desperation to counter co-operatives," said Chaudhary, adding that Sursagar Dairy already pays an average of Rs 25 per kilo fat as bonus to farmers on yearly basis.

"This means that we actually pay Rs 345 per kilo fat," Chaudhary added.

Girnar Mountain Parvat Temples Lili Parikrama Junagadh City Gujarat India

If you are currently thinking or want to join this season Girnar Mountain Lili Parikrama, then just rust to Junagadh City, do not think more as this Historical city of Gujarat want to welcome you for this Event.

Here I want to share more detailed updates news with all mine blog visitors, which I read at one news site.

Pilgrims climbing their way up to mount Girnar will be treated with glasses of milk and water, while emergency medical services in makeshift hospitals will be on standby during annual event of Girnar Parikrama (pilgrimage).

The parikrama from October 29 to November 2 is an annual event in Kartik month of the Hindu calendar, when devotees beat 36 km of rough mountain terrain and jungles of mount Girnar by foot, to visit various religious spots along the way. To make this journey a smooth-sailing affair for devotees, the district administration leaves no stone unturned.

"The entire route of the parikrama has been personally inspected by district collector Ashwini Kumar, deputy conservator of forest Anita Karne and forest staff. An emergency meeting was held in which several orders regarding maintaining health and other facilities for the pilgrims were issued," said a district administrative official.

The administration decided to put up milk distributing centers at 13 places in Jhinabava Ni Madhi, Marvela, Bordevi, Itanva Ni Ghodi and Nalpani Na Besna places along the route of the parikrama.

"There will also be drinking water points erected at 36 places on the route by Junagadh Municipal Corporation. That apart, seven makeshift hospitals, four emergency ambulance services and four mobile units will be pressed into service to meet any eventuality during the event," said the official.

Junagadh RTO will be plying an extra 130 buses to ferry pilgrims from the city to Bhavnath, the starting point of the parikrama, while Western Railway, Junagadh division will be adding an extra four coaches to every Junagadh-bound train. There will also be a special train for Satadhar.

Junagadh fire brigade has been ordered to stand guard round-the-clock in the event of fire fighting to prevent any mishap on the parikrama route. Meanwhile, the forest department has urged pilgrims to stick to the route charted for them, in order not to protect environment and not to disturb wildlife.

Bhavnath Temple Fair Mela Junagadh Tourism Gujarat India

Bhavnath fair has potential to give new life to tourism in Gujarat.

The Juna-gadh ( Old- fort ) is one of the ancient surviving city of India.

Junagadh is situated under the Girnar Parvat & Datar hills; one of the most picturesque towns of Gujarat. The town was called Manipur,Karnakubja, Raivata etc and at present, it is called Junagadh .

It is deeply believed Lord Shiva & Lord Narayana took up their residence in the vicinity of Temple of Bhavnath & Lord Narayana as Damodarji near Damodar Kund . The town is known for its famous ancient rock fort, Buddhist caves, magnificent Jain temples, ancient step wells, Ashoka inscription, colorful religious festival etc. The most famous Bhavnath temple is located at the foot of Girnar, is ancient & the origins are unknown.

The Bhavnath Mela is held here for 5 days. The fair coinciding with the grandiose and very famous festival of Shivratri, Bhavnath fair, is dedicated to Lord Shiva.

Thousands sacred saints (Naga Sadhus) do visit Bhavnath during the fair. The saints come from various school of thoughts possesing common belief that the whole world is their home and they do not require any cloth on body. was accepted as part of their way of life.

The Bhavnath Fair is one of the most colorful & vibrant event in many ways. The fair offers true color of the life style of sacred sages of different groups, they gather for a ritual involving a blend of dance and martial arts & the same time passionate and intense.

Above all various colorful communities, tribes & devotees visit with gorgeous ornaments & handicraft wearing which captures the mind, eye & soul of any human being!

The fair conveys the message of richness of our true culture. The fair takes back to our ancient root, customs, practices, ritual, belief, and it offers insight of irresistible Gujarat.

It is very rare & even to imagine. Gujarat is gifted with Bhavnath Fair of Junagadh !!!

Kumbh Mela is held once in 12 years. Thousand of foreign tourists book tents and all available accommodation for the festival in year advance, just to the get glimpses of the mystic saints & to see the life style of most sacred sages. The Bhavnath festival has potential to attract thousands of high budget foreign tourists. If Bhavnath fair is marketed correctly at the International tourism fairs and forums such as WTM, ITB-Berlin etc, it can become one of the other major International Fair for Gujarat.

On tourism front, the Government of Gujarat has made a serious effort to promote various destinations of state through events & festivals such as Navaratri, International Kite festival & Tarnetar fair etc. It could be one of the most successful fair of Gujarat & will be a huge attraction of its unique elements of rarity. This could be clubbed to visit other tourist destination of Gujarat.

The tourism professionals & related official bodies need to identify committed tour operators with the help of proper documents, who are working & promoting in these lines presently. There are 100s of travel agents just to sale air ticket, some out bound package tours and LTC tours of various states. This is the avenue that we need to seriously explore to identify the right people, proper foreign contacts with tourism boards & tourism associations and above all a proper marketing company that could handle public relations in many countries.
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The international print & electronic media needs to be galvanized. Special arrangements for foreign tourists to observe the event should be formulated.

Also infrastructure including accommodation and seating arrangements should be developed, some where near the festival starting point.

The state could attract many more thousands of high budget foreign tourists. Gujarat Is felt every where & running far ahead of most states in infrastructure, Industry development, safety , water management , best roads and education etc. Why not tourism?

The Bhavnath fair has potential to become the future of tourism in Gujarat. What Sanjeevani was to Lakshman in Ramayana, Bhavnath fair could be to Gujarat in tourism sector!!!

Bhavnath fair will be held on 9,10,11,12(Shivratri) February in year 2010.

Junagadh Kutch Main Diwali Tourist Attractions Gujarat India

Junagadh District, Kutch see tourism boom in Diwali.

Gujarat’s two districts; Junagadh and Kutch are having great tourist rush this Diwali vacation.

Most of the hotels and guest houses are booked. There are long queues at temples and taxis are over booked.

Junagadh district located in Gujarat’s Saurashtra area has three major tourist attractions to offer: Somnath Jyotirlinga temple, Sasan Gir Lion Sanctuary and Girnar Parvat Hill.

Junagadh’s Sakkarbaug zoo which is the largest and oldest zoo of Gujarat known for its Asiatic Lion and cheetahs is witnessing thousands of visitors; Ambaji temple located atop Gujarat’s tallest Girnar Mountain Hill is also full of visitors according to its priest Tansukhgiri Maharaj.

In Somnath, all residual facilities were booked and long queues were formed for Lord Somnath’s darshan at Aarti time to accommodate extra rush in the evenings. In Sasan Gir Lion Sanctuary tourists faced shortage of hotel rooms. Some tourists had to stay in Junagadh to visit Sasan Gir due to unavailability of Hotel room in Sasan Gir proper. Some tourists who wanted to visit Sasan Gir safari also faced one day waiting period.

Another hot and proven tourist destination in Gujarat this Diwali is Kutch district in this Diwali vacation. Destinations such as Matano Madh and Narayan Sarovar-Koteshwar are witnessing inflow of thousands of tourists. Bhuj based Gujarat’s oldest Kutch Museum is also witnessing great rush of visitors.

Major tourist attractions in Kutch include Bhuj, Kalo Dungar, Dholavira Harappan archaeological site, Narayan Sarovar-Koteshwar, Lakhpat fort, Banni, Chhari Dhand, Rann of Kutch, ethnic villages, Jain religious places etc.

Kutch is now worldwide known tourist destination for rural tourism. This year’s Rann festival in Kutch will be organized in December.

Veraval Junagadh District News Gujarat India

Cement firm accused of illegal mining in Junagadh.

A leading cement company has been accused of illegal limestone quarrying over 320 hectares in Junagadh District over three years.

The Junagadh collector recently issued notices to the cement company as also farmers who had leased the land for the purpose without permission.

According to the notice, the Gujarat-based company quarried limestone on 120 hectares of farm land and 200 ha of cattle grazing land belonging to the gram panchayat.

Sarpanch Somabhai Chavda of Rampra village of Veraval Taluka in Junagadh lodged the complaint in a local court against the mining. He said the company encroached grazing land in the village to start its illegal operations.

Following the complaint, the state government’s geology and mining department sent a team to survey the claim and assess the extent of mining.

Team member R H Patel said the survey revealed that limestone mining had been illegally done on 120 ha of agricultural land under survey no. 87/P/9 and 87/P/7. Sources said, according to rules, the government is entitled to a royalty of Rs 2 crore for every hectare of land put under limestone mining.

Thus, the cement company which allegedly carried out mining on 320 hectares in Junagadh district would be liable to pay the government as much as Rs 640 crore in royalty.

Farmer and local BJP leader Razak Isabhai said he complained to Home Minister Amit Shah about the illegal mining on five occasions in the past.

Following this, he claimed he got threat calls from officials of the cement company.

Isabhai said he then wrote to the collector and sought police protection. He said he took up the matter as the illegal quarrying was causing the government a loss of about Rs 700 crore.

The survey report said the cement company also mined minerals from several plots of farm land and covered up the craters with rubble weighing at least 1,500 tonnes. Sources said the government plans to itself pursue the issue with the company after illegations of inaction by the district collectorate.

Sakkar Bag Zoo Junagadh City News Gujarat India

Hyena cub rescued from Gujarat house.

The Gujarat Forest Department rescued a cub of hyena from a house in Surendranagar district, where it was kept and nourished for about two months, after getting it from the wild.

The two-months-old striped hyena was brought to Sakkar Bag Zoo, B N Srivastava, principal chief conservator of wild life (Junagadh) told PTI.

The wild animal was recovered from the house of one Zavara Bhai of Kandhasara village, who said that the "pet", had been tamed.

Somnath Mandir Veraval City Junagadh District Gujarat India

Eight Mandirs in Gujarat to be decorated by colorful lighting.

The government of Gujarat has taken a decision to decorate eight Hindu Mandir in state with colorful lighting during Diwali and also to continue this decoration across the year to boost the tourism.

State Tourism minister Jaynarayan Vyas today took this decision in a meeting attended by district collectors of Banaskantha, Sabarkantha, Mehsana, Godhra, Surendranagar, Jamnagar, Junagadh and Kheda districts.

While Ambaji Mandir will be decorated with solar powered light, Dwarka Mandir will be decorated with power saving system at a cost of Rs.14 lakh.

Junagadh district’s Somnath Mandir, Sabarkantha district’s Shamlaji Mandir, Kheda’s Dakor Mandir, Mehsana’s Bahucharaji, Surendranagar’s Chotila Mandir, Pavagadh’s Mahakali Mandir will also be decorated with colorful light according to shape of the respective Mandir.

Sasan Gir National Park Asiatic Lions Wildlife Sanctuary News Gujarat India

Gujarat zoo refuses lion exchange- Asiatic Lion Re-introduction Project spurs numbers supremacy game.

Tata Steel Zoological Society’s bid to procure Asiatic lions has hit a hurdle, thanks to the proposed Lion Re-introduction Project in Madhya Pradesh.

The Sakkarbaug Zoo in Junagadh City (Gujarat) has turned down Tata Zoo’s request for a pair of Asiatic lions on exchange basis. There are about 80 such lions in the Gujarat zoo, all rescued from Gir Wildlife Sanctuary.

Sources said that the war of attrition between Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh governments prevented Sakkarbaug zoo authorities from giving away surplus Asiatic lions to their counterparts, including the one at Jamshedpur.

The problem began with the Asiatic Lion Re-introduction Project proposed at Palpur-Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh.

The project is an effort to save the last Asiatic lions from extinction. The lion population in Gir forests is under threat from epidemics, natural and man-made disasters. The project is aimed at establishing a second independent population of Asiatic lions at the Palpur-Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary.

Sakkarbaug authorities are reluctant to let go of lions as it wants to retain its monopoly over the tourism revenue generated by the endangered species.

The Union ministry of environment and forests has intervened to resolve the issue between the Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh governments. But things have failed to make any headway.

An official of the Sakkarbaug Zoo said: “We are not giving away the lions at present. There’s an instruction from the state government.”

“I spoke to the authorities at Junagadh zoo recently but they have expressed helplessness in providing us with a pair of Asiatic lions. They have told us to wait for at least a year,” Tata Zoo director Bipul Chakravarty told The Telegraph.

“There are at present about 380 lions in Gir and 80 in the zoo,” he said, adding that zoos are permitted to keep 15 lions.

According to Chakravarty, they require Asiatic lions as the Central Zoo Authority has banned breeding of hybrid ones. The zoo here presently has a pair of hybrid lions.

Tata Zoo authorities are concerned with the receding population of big cats, especially lions and tigers, due to the deaths of a lion and a tiger recently. Moreover, one of the two female tigers has lost its breeding capacity.

The zoo is experiencing problems in breeding the young female tiger due to the absence of its male counterpart. Authorities have requested their counterparts in Guwahati to provide a male tiger in exchange for emus.

Sakkarbaug Zoo Junagadh City Saurashtra Gujarat India

Animal transfer from Sakkarbaug Zoo to Sayaji Baug Zoo hangs in balance

The proposal of transferring animals from Sakkarbaug Zoo in Junagadh to Sayaji Baug Zoo in Vadodara is moving at a snail’s pace. Sources said the authorities in both zoos are passing the buck and have not approached the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) to initiate the process.

On one hand, authorities in Sakkarbaug zoo say that Sayaji Baug Zoo is not accepting their proposal of transferring Black bear and tiger in exchange of exotic birds, while Sayaji Baug Zoo officials said that Sakkarbaug should submit a proposal to CZA.

Sayaji Baug Zoo is under the Vadodara Municipal Corporation’s (VMC) aegis. VMC Deputy Commissioner A O Sharma said: “We cannot agree to Sakkarbaug’s proposal to transfer male black bear and tiger till it takes CZA’s permission.”

Sakkarbaug Zoo Director V J Rana said: “Till Sayaji Baug agrees to our proposal, we cannot approach CZA.”

Meanwhile, CZA Evaluating and Monitoring Officer Brij Gupta said: “All Schedule I and II animals can be transferred from one zoo to another or state if needed, and this process has to be cleared by CZA. CZA first checks facilities at the zoo for keeping the animals. We have not received any proposal from Sakkarbaug Zoo till now.”

Girnar Mountain Temples Annual Lili Parikrama Junagadh City Gujarat India

Girnar Lili Parikrma will start at 29th October and this time will also ban for Plastic and Gutkha.

Around one million Hindus will participate in Girnar’s anual Lili Parikrama(Green pradakshina or circumambulation). The 36-km parikrama will start from 29th of October and end on 2nd November. According to Gujarati Hindu calendar Parikrama starts from Kartik 11 to 15 every year.

Girnar the tallest mountain of Gujarat is 6 km. from Junagadh city. On an average, about 7 lakh devotees attend the parikrama but as Gir forest has a lush green look after good monsoon this year, it may attract one million devotees. In year 2003 Parikrama had attracted 1.2 million devotees.

The History of Girnar Lili Parikrma in Junagadh is like that,"according to popular belief, after winning the war at Kurukshetra, Pandavas had done the parikarma to seek God’s blessings."

As the stretch of the Parikrama passes through the forest, it is an adventurous trip for the youngsters. After the rainfall, the ponds and rivers are full of water adding to the scenic beauty of the forest and hills, so this year many more youngsters will participate in the Parikrama. Youngsters see it as solving a dual purpose. They complete a ritual as they enjoy the beauty of Gir forest.

Early this week, the district collector of Junagadh chaired a meeting to discuss the arrangements. The meeting resulted in formation of Action Group for smoother implantation of various related works.

The state transport corporation has planned to arrange 150 extra buses, 20 more than last year to accommodate extra traffic of Lili Parikrama. Railway authority is planning to add extra coaches around Parikrama schedule.

The Parikrama will commence from Girnar Taleti, night halt at Jinabava Madhi, and MarvellaBordevi and return to the starting point on the fifth day.

The forest department has put a ban on plastic bags and gutkha. Anyone found violating the ban will be fined, said forest department officials.

Wellingdon Dam Junagadh City Development News Gujarat India

Tractors plying on cement road in Gir.

In what seems like a gross violation of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, a cement concrete road is coming up in a part of Girnar Wildlife Sanctuary near Junagadh city.

The 2.5-km, 10-feet-wide road on Datar Hill is already constructed, but work is still on. Heavy vehicles like tractors are also plying on the road. Unfortunately, no one seems to care about this.

The road starts from Wellingdon Dam and goes to Hathipaga on Datar Hills. It's parallel to the steps going to Datar Hill and while constructing it many trees would have been cut.

However, forest department officials seem unaware of this. On being asked, deputy conservator of forests (DCF) Anita Karne said, "We are not aware of this but will inquire into the matter and do the needful."

"This road has come up in gross violation of wildlife protection laws. This can't be allowed," said a local who has been fighting for the conservation of Gir forest.

Madhavpur Porbandar District News Samachar Gujarat India

Water conservation proves boon for salinity-affected Madhavpur town. Water conservation in the abandoned mines in and around Madhavpur town of Porbandar district has proved to be a boon for the salinity-affected coastal belt.

The water table has risen to a considerable extent in the five kilometer radius around the mines, providing round the clock irrigation facilities for hundreds of hectares of agricultural land.

Naginbhai Popat, a social worker associated with a local NGO said: “The state government has constructed a 340-meter long interconnecting channel joining a numbers of mines.

At present, water has accumulated in all the mines in the area.” Popat said Madhavpur received some 52 inch rainfall during this monsoon.

“Approximately, some 200 lakh gallons of water has been stored in these mines,” he added. Some 80 abandoned mines are located in Nilkanth, Chamunda and Pudhar areas on the outskirts of Madhavpur town.

Popat added: “Water conservation was started three years ago.

Earlier, the area was facing problem of salinity ingress, but after water conservation in the mines, the area is becoming free from salinity ingress and some 314 hectares are getting 24 hour irrigation facility.”