In an effort to promote the tiger conservation and tourism cause in the State, veteran Bollywood actor and Tiger Ambassador of Maharashtra Amitabh Bachchan on Saturday flagged off motor bike rally that would pass through four tiger reserves in the State.
Amitabh flagged off 20 bikers belonging to the “Alliance for Riding Knights”, a group of motor-bike enthusiasts belonging to the corporate sector, from his “Janak” office at Juhu in north-west Mumbai, in the presence of Maharashtra Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar.
During their motor bike rally from October 24 to 30, the bikers will visit four of the five tiger reserves in the State — Melghat, Pench Nawegaon-Nagzira and Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserves and villages surrounding them. During their visits to towns and villages surrounding the tiger reserves, the bikers will talk to people about the need for tiger conservation.
Interacting briefly with the media at the flag-off ceremony, Amitabh said: “This is an inspiring example of public participation for a noble cause. I thank and wish a happy and safe journey to all the riders”.
It may be recalled that the Devendra Fadnavis Government appointed Amitabh as the Tiger Ambassador for Maharashtra in August this year. The appointment had come within days after the State Forest Minister requested him to accept the assignment aimed at creating awareness and promote tiger tourism in the State. The actor had readily accepted the state Government’s request.
Speaking on the occasion, Mungantiwar said that during their week-long tour, the bikers — comprising executives from the corporate sector — would carry out the public awareness campaign for tiger conservation among the people living in the four of the five tiger reserves in the country.
Mungantiwar, who comes from Chandrapur district in eastern Maharashtra where the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) is located, has been taking immense interest in promoting the tiger conservation and tourism in the State. It was he who had taken the initiative of inviting Big-B to become the Tiger Ambassador of Maharashtra.
The tiger conservation movement in Maharashtra should be seen in the light of the fact that the tiger population in the State has increased from 103 in the year 2006 to 169 in 2010 and now to 190 in 2014.