The Wild Orissa will participate in ‘Gaj Yatra’ at New Delhi starting on Sunday. It is a signature campaign aimed at raising the profile of India’s national heritage animal, the Asian elephant, thus contributing to its conservation and welfare.
The unique event will bring together policy makers, leaders of industry, eminent conservationists, personalities from entertainment, sports, art and culture, and school children. ‘Gajah in Odisha - A perspective’, by Wild Orissa will be released on the occasion.
Meanwhile, the Wild Orissa has demanded that the State Government take a few crucial measures to save the elephant population which is falling fast owing to various reasons.
Its demands include declaring all elephant habitats in Odisha as Ecologically Sensitive Areas under the provisions of the Environment Protection Act; amending the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 by providing legally recognised status to the elephant movement and migratory corridors; ensuring effectiveness in conservation of wild elephants through establishment of a new statutory authority, National Elephant Conservation Authority, besides defining ‘elephant reserve’ under the Wildlife Protection Act, to include ‘Core’, ‘Buffer’ and ‘Voluntary Relocation’.