Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Kuno Palpur National Park in Sheopur district on his birthday on September 17 to release cheetahs into the park has been officially confirmed now by the central government.
A Press Information Bureau (PIB) press release on Thursday stated, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Madhya Pradesh on September 17. At around 10:45 AM, Prime Minister will release Cheetahs in Kuno National Park. After that, at around 12 Noon, he will participate in SHG Sammelan with women SHG members/community resource persons at Karahal, Sheopur.”
The official information states the release of wild cheetahs by the Prime Minister in Kuno National Park is part of his efforts to revitalise and diversify India’s wildlife and its habitat. Cheetah was declared extinct from India in 1952. The Cheetahs that would be released are from Namibia and have been brought under an MoU signed earlier this year.
“The introduction of cheetah in India is being done under Project Cheetah, which is world’s first inter-continental large wild carnivore translocation project”, it states further.
Cheetahs will help in the restoration of open forest and grassland ecosystems in India. This will help conserve biodiversity and enhance the ecosystem services like water security, carbon sequestration and soil moisture conservation, benefiting the society at large, says the release.
This effort, in line with the Prime Minister’s commitment towards environment protection and wildlife conservation, will also lead to enhanced livelihood opportunities for the local community through eco-development and ecotourism activities, it states further.
On the SHG sammelan the release states the sammelan will witness the attendance of thousands of women Self Help Group (SHG) members/community resource persons that are being promoted under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM).
During the programme, Prime Minister will also be inaugurating four Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) skilling centres under PM Kaushal Vikas Yojana.
DAY-NRLM aims at mobilising rural poor households into SHGs in a phased manner and provide them long-term support to diversify their livelihoods, improve their incomes and quality of life. The Mission is also working towards empowering the women SHG members through awareness generation and behaviour change communication on issues like domestic violence, women’s education and other gender related concerns, nutrition, sanitation, health etc.
