Wildlife activists in the Little Rann of Kutch have pressed alarm bells over alleged encroachment inside the Wild Ass Sanctuary. The activists have sought urgent intervention from state forest and environment minister Mulu Bera. Their report charges some “big salt manufacturing unit” with setting up base inside the reserve and operating “heavy machinery” therein.
The reserve is not only home to the “near threatened” wild ass (ghudkar), but also such endangered species as chinkara, black buck, deer and hyena. It is also home to several migratory birds.
Coalescing all activists under a single a banner, the Disha Nirdesh Samiti made several presentations to the local forest officials in the last three weeks. The report notes that the land between Mandarki and Venasar villages on the northern side of the desert have been encroached by salt-manufacturing units.
“They are operating heavy machinery like earth movers. Plus, illegal mining is also being carried out. Both activities are banned in eco-sensitive areas like these,” voiced Jitendra Rathod, frontman of the organisation.
The region is known to trap sediments during monsoon, which in turn, saves the entire region from desertification. “Such abuse of natural resources will turn the land barren,” explained local environmentalist Chatur Charmari.
Located in an area called Little Rann of Kutch, the Wild Ass Sanctuary in Kutch is the only home to wild ass in India. The sanctuary was set up in 1973 with a purpose to protect the endangered Indian species. Sprawling an area of 5,000 square km and covering a minor portion of cities like Sundernagar, Rajkot, Patan, Banaskantha and Kutch district, the wild ass sanctuary is the largest wildlife sanctuary in Gujarat.
Indian Wild Ass (Equus hemionus khur), commonly known as the ghudkhar, still exists in this sanctuary. Akin to the Tibetan Kiang, the ghudkhar are distinguished by a dark stripe along its back. Known for its speed, the wild ass lives in herds led by stallions and survived by migrating between the grassy ‘bets’ through the season, in search of food. There are around 3,000 wild asses in the sanctuary and can be best seen in and around October and November.
When asked to comment, DF Gadhvi, deputy conservator (Forests), briefed of a meeting with the activists on January 7. “We have asked for evidence to support their charges. If there be any truth to the same, an inquiry will soon be initiated,” he added.
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