Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday lauded the unique wildlife conservation, rescue and rehabilitation centre, Vantara, days after inaugurating the facility established by Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and Reliance Foundation in Jamnagar district of Gujarat.
Spread over 3,000 acres at RIL refinery complex in Jamnagar, Vantara is home to more than 2,000 species and over 150,000 rescued, endangered and threatened animals. PM Modi inaugurated the centre on Sunday — during his three-day Gujarat visit starting March 1 — explored various facilities at the centre and closely interacted with the various species of animals rehabilitated there.
“Inaugurated Vantara, a unique wildlife conservation, rescue and rehabilitation initiative, which provides a safe haven for animals while promoting ecological sustainability and wildlife welfare. I commend Anant Ambani and his entire team for this very compassionate effort,” Modi said in a post on X.
“An effort like Vantara is truly commendable, a vibrant example of our centuries-old ethos of protecting those we share our planet with,” he added.
The PM also shared a video and pictures from his visit.
“At Vantara, I saw an elephant which was the victim of an acid attack. The elephant was being treated with utmost care. There were other elephants too, which were blinded and that too ironically by their Mahout. Another elephant was hit by a speeding truck. This underscores an important question – how can people be so careless and cruel? Let us put an end to such irresponsibility and focus on kindness towards animals,” Modi said.
There were other instances, too, Modi wrote on X, adding that a lioness was hit by a vehicle with severe spinal injuries. “She was getting proper care. A leopard cub abandoned by her family got a new lease of life, with proper nutritional care. I compliment the team at Vantara for the care given to several such animals,” he added.
Modi was accompanied by Reliance Industries chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani and his wife Nita Ambani, while their son Anant Ambani is seen showing the PM around in the 7-minute-40-second video the PM shared on X.
“The prime minister patted an okapi, came face to face with chimpanzees in open who were got from a facility where they were kept as pets, hugged and lovingly played with orangutan who were earlier kept in an over-crowded facility, saw up close a hippopotamus which was under water, saw crocodiles, undertook a walk in between zebras, fed a giraffe and a rhino calf,” Vantara said in a statement.
With a glass partition in between, Modi sat face to face with snow tigers, white lion and a snow leopard.
The PM also saw a large python, a unique two-headed snake, a two-headed turtle, tapirs, leopard cubs which were left in an agricultural field and later spotted by villagers and rescued, giant otters, bongos (antelope), and seals.
Hydrotherapy pools at the centre support recovery of elephants suffering from arthritis and foot problems, and improve their mobility. Modi also saw the workings of the elephant hospital, which is the largest such hospital in the world, the statement added.