Gujarat starts vaccination of Gir lions against deadly virus
Ahmedabad: The Gujarat forest department on Sunday started vaccination of lions in the Gir sanctuary to protect them from a deadly virus blamed for the death of some of the big cats in their last abode. As many as 23 lions have died in Gujarat’s Gir sanctuary in less than a month. Most of them have succumbed to canine distemper virus (CDV) and protozoa infections, forest officials had said. The lions, an endangered species, are being vaccinated under intensive veterinary care and as per standard protocol, officials said Sunday. CDV is considered a dangerous virus and had been blamed for wiping out 30 per cent population of African lions in East African forests. “Vaccination of segregated #Lions under intensive veterinary care as per standard protocol started. Top national & International lion experts have been consulted. Government undertaking utmost care for lion safety,” the Chief Conservator of Forest, Wildlife Junagadh, an official twitter handle of the Junagadha district forest department, said. The Gir sanctuary falls under the Junagadha district forest department’s jurisdiction. A senior government official in Gandhinagar said only those lions which are in the forest department’s captivity are being vaccinated at present. (PTI)
21, including village head, booked for eve-teasing
Muzaffarnagar (UP): The police here have booked 21 people, including a village head, in connection with an alleged incident of eve-teasing. According to Circle Officer Ram Mohan Sharma, the accused, including Nempal Singh, the village head of Sikanderpur, were booked under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on the basis of a complaint from a girl’s family. Those named in the complaint were accused of teasing the girl and beating up her family members when they objected to it, Sharma said. The case against the 21 people was lodged after the family members of the girl staged a protest in front of the sub-divisional police officer’s (SDPO) office. (PTI)
Kumaon villagers buy foodgrain from Nepal markets
Pithoragarh: Short supply of government rations appears to have forced tribals in some border villages of Uttarakhand’s Kumaon region to depend on Chinese foodgrain bought from Nepalese markets. “The quota of rations supplied by the state government falls short of our requirements. So much so that some of the villagers have had to depend on Chinese foodgrain bought from markets in Nepal,” tribal leader Krishna Garbiyal told PTI on Friday. He was part of a delegation of Vyas valley villagers who met Dharchula SDM Friday to demand an increased supply of rations under the Public Distribution System (PDS). Villagers cross a bridge over Kali river near Garbiyang which connects India with Nepal and buy rations from the markets of Tinkar and Changru villages of the neighbouring country to fulfil their needs, he said. “The government allocates five kg of wheat and two kg of rice per month to each family which is far from enough. We have demanded several times to increase the ration quota for families residing in high altitudes as these areas do not grow grains like wheat or paddy,” Garbiyal said. The villagers said apart from the insufficient quota of ration, even their allotted amount has not reached them in time. They had received their last rations before the onset of Monsoon. (PTI)