Junagadh Saurashtra – Kathiyavadi Ghoda na conservation Vishe

Genetists at Anand Agricultural University are helping the Government of Gujarat promote breeding of the State's indigenous “Kathiyavadi” horse among private horse owners.

As per Professor D.N. Rank Interviews, who is Professor of Animal Genetics at the Veterinary College at Anand Agricultural University, “Any indigenous breed is declared by the Central government to be endangered if its numbers fall below 10,000; and the Kathiyavadi horse from Gujarat falls in this category.”

“Horses are becoming quite a craze among the neo rich who are now visiting animal fairs like the annual one at Pushkar.”

The wealthy, who own farmhouses, now come from Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab and Maharashtra to attend animal fairs in the western region looking for horses to buy, he said.

Fifty years ago, the horse was used as a utility animal. Ownership of horses was also a tradition among the princely families, and a good many of the horses owned were Kathiyavadi.

Currently, the demand among the newly rich is for thoroughbreds (the kind used as race horses) and not indigenous breeds like the Kathiyavadi or Marwari which are not that tall.

“We are trying to popularize ownership of the Kathiyavadi to encourage conservation of the breed. We cannot force people to keep them, but we can only create awareness,” said Prof. Rank. The objective is to get the Kathiyavadi to exist in good numbers across the region so that the breed can be preserved, he said.

Earlier this year, there was an indigenous horse fair conducted by the Anand Agricultural University which fetched a fairly good response, with 400 Kathiawari and Marwari horses being part of the show, said Prof. Rank. Some of the horses owned by the Gujarat police department are of the indigenous variety too, he said. The Kathiawari horse costs between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 1.5 lakh, while a pure stallion fetches as much as Rs 5 lakh.

In Gujarat, there are three horse shows supported by the State Government. The Animal Husbandry Department has three horse breeding farms — at Junagadh, Kodinar and Inaj — where the Kathiawari is bred and stallions made available, said Prof Rank.

The Government encourages owners of Kathiawari mares to bring them to the farms to get them impregnated.

Private owners of Kathiawari stallions are charging as much as Rs 25,000 for successful impregnation of a mare, said Prof. Rank.

Sasan Gir Earthquake Epicenter – Bhukamp na Mota pachchi 57 thi vadhare NANA Aanchaka

After few days ago, quake of 5.3 magnitudes jolted the Whole especially with Gujarat stateJunagadh District and Saurashtra Region.

But after that, Junagadh Jilla Villages experienced as many as 57 aftershocks till Saturday.

As per Latest Seismologist Interviews, they said that, this was part of the many aftershocks of the 2001 earthquake.

Senior scientists at Institute of Seismological Research (ISR), Gandhinagar, are monitoring the seismic activity in Sasan in Junagadh and Kutch.

"Our team is working in Sasan as part of the investigations. We have installed four instruments within 20 km area of the epicenter."
Aftershocks of very low magnitude are occurring as the seismic activity in the area is decaying.

"So in order to register even the minute activity, we have installed such instruments close to the epicenter."

"It is nothing but an aftershock of the 2001 earthquake. Several such aftershocks have occurred in the same area earlier too."

As per Latest Junagadh District Collector AM Parmar Interviews, he said that,"We have started the survey in affected areas. This is likely to be over in the next 4 to 5 days. Many people whose houses were damaged are living in their farms.”

Junagadh Jilla Samachar – Diwali Jode Bhukamp na Aanchaka

At Thursday, Ladudi village in Maliya Hatina taluka of Junagadh was the worst affected by Night Earthquake, which measured 5.3 on the Richter scale.

Around 45 to 50 houses were damaged as their walls collapsed. Some 15 villagers were injured, but no death has been reported.

Talala Town Junagadh District has six injured had to be hospitalized.

They are - Babu Bambhaniya (22), Lakha Bharda (30), Gandabhai Jorda (45), Manjuben Jora (42), Maniben Jora (35) and Januben Makwana (60).

The tremors were felt across other Saurashtra Region like Jamnagar, Surendranagar, Bhavnagar, Rajkot, Amreli and Porbandar.

As per Ladudi villagers interviews, they said that, they ran helter-skelter in panic after the earthquake.

They spent the whole night outside their homes.Fortunately, no one died.

The government should declare compensation for those whose houses were destroyed as most of them are poor and daily wager labourers.

We live close to the Gir sanctuary and the danger of lions is ever present.

Most villagers were asleep when the quake struck at 10.48 pm.

It took them three or four seconds to realize what was happening.

About 25 people have been injured in various incidences in Junagadh district.

The moment the earth started trembling, people panicked and jumped from the building and came running from their houses.

According to disaster management officials, a 15-year-old girl Shivani Mahendrabhai, a resident of Khambha village in Visavadar taluka of Junagadh, jumped from her home.

She panicked and jumped from the house after the earthquake.She fractured her back and legs.
Two people were also injured as a wall collapsed near Chitravad village in Talala.

In yet another wall collapse, two people were injured in Khorasa village in Maliya-Hatina taluka.

According to officials, Nanduben Sevra (45) and her son Dhaval (12) were sleeping in their home when the quake struck and a wall of their house collapsed, injuring both of them.

People across Junagadh district had a sleepless night. In many villages, power cuts compounded their problems. According to sources in Paschim Gujarat Vij Company Ltd (PGVCL), power failure was reported in Talala, Veraval, Hakolvadi, Jasadha, Moraj among other villages.
However, power was restored by early morning.

Gujarat Chief minister Narendra Modi, visited the quake hit areas of Malia-Hati and Talala talukas in Junagadh district most hit by Thursday's earthquake.

He met the injured persons in the hospital, wished them a speedy recovery and ordered a survey of the extent of the damage.

Modi also visited Lahudi, Jalandhar and other villages in the afternoon.

He further directed the Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority (GSDMA) staff to reach the areas with maximum damage and provide all possible rescue and relief assistance.

Junagadh City District Earthquake News – AP Center was near to Vanthli Village

As per Indian Met Department, the epicenter of the quake of moderate intensity, which shook the state at around 10:48 pm, was 20 kilometers south east of Sasan Gir near the Vanthli town in the Junagadh district.

The epicenter of the earthquake which registered 5.3 on Richter scale was at Junagadh in Gujarat...tremors were felt here.

The quake was felt for 25 seconds in Junagadh and people rushed out of their homes in panic.
The tremor was felt in several other parts of the state including Ahmedabad.

Gujarat was rocked by a 7.6 magnitude earthquake on January 26, 2001 leaving 20,000 people dead and causing widespread destruction with the worst-affected being the Kutch region.

Junagadh Saurashtra News – Season Vagar no Varshad

Saurashtra region farmers are worried a lot for the last three days as unseasonal rain continued to lash parts of the region.

According to district flood control room officials, it rained sporadically in Bhavnagar, Amreli and Junagadh districts.

According to Junagadh district flood control room officials, few days ago, Manavadar topped the list with 25 mm rainfall within an hour.

Trees and electric polls fell due to stormy wind with rain. Two domestic animals were killed due to lightning in Junagadh district on Tuesday evening.

Asiatic Lion Sancturies India – Sasan Gir National Park gets 60% bonus tourists this Diwali vacation

Bollywood Megastar Amitabh Bachchan charm continued to work for the forest department at Gir Wildlife Sanctuary (GWS), the only abode to Asiatic lions in the world.

At least 60 % more tourists are booked at this sanctuary for Diwali vacations, compared to last year.

The sanctuary will open on Sunday after a three-month break for monsoon, which also coincides with the mating season for the beasts.

According to officials at GWS, the tourist flow has increased drastically as compared to the last year.

The conducive environment and the facilities provided by the department has turned out to be a major aspect attracting the tourist, officials said.

Even the Gateway hotel at Sasan Gir is completely booked, weeks after it opened.

As per Latest Chief Conservator of Forests, Junagadh, R L Meena Interviews, told to media that, “After the poaching incidents, which surfaced in 2007, we have taken several measures to change the entire perspective about Gir. The staff has been changed totally and about 400 of them are new recruits and that makes a lot of difference.

The old staff had been working as typical forest department staff whereas it needed something more than that because it was all about attracting more tourists.”

“Not only that, the local tourist guides have gained a lot of confidence in explaining about wildlife to the tourists.”

“There is no doubt that his presence has made direct impact on the tourist flow. After all, he is a superstar and people do acknowledge him.”

During 2009-10, a total of 2,06,563 persons visited the sanctuary and Devaliya Safari Park.
During 2010-11, 2,71,745 persons visited GWS and Devaliya Safari Park.

“There is an increase of 65,182 tourists in the financial year 2010-11 in comparison to 2009-10, which shows 31.55% increase in the tourist flow. During the current financial year, 1,08,996 persons have visited the sanctuary and Devaliya Safari Park. The sanctuary remained closed for tourists from June 16 to October 1.”

The tourism campaign has also benefitted the private hospitality sector, with the first large foray into the area booked full for the Diwali season.

The newly opened Gateway hotel at Sasan Gir — a part of the Taj hospitality chain with 28 rooms and a regular jeep safaris — has already been booked to capacity for the Diwali holiday season.

“We are completely sold out. It’s a mix (of foreign and domestic tourists), but a lot of domestic.”