Raveena Tandon is brand ambassador for national park, adopts one leopard
MUMBAI : Officials at the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), said all the leopards and lions in the park are now adopted. Park officials made the claim on Tuesday, during the Arambh event. Hindi film actress Raveena Tandon was declared SGNP’S brand ambassador during the event, which was organised by the state forest department.
While Tandon adopted a leopard at SGNP’S rescue centre, all the other leopards and lions have been adopted by a private company, officials said. “Our brand ambassador [Raveena Tandon] adopted a leopard for ₹1.2 lakh. Eight other leopards as well as all the lions were also adopted...,” said Anwar Ahmed, director of forest, SGNP.
The expenses related to the upkeep of the animals will be borne by those who adopt them for a year. Due to rising maintenance cost of the animals at SGNP, the forest department had issued a resolution in 2014 which made it possible for citizens and companies in the city to adopt animals for a year upon paying a certain fee.
During the event, SGNP’S new website (sgnp.maharastra.gov.in) was launched. The Jan Dhan Van Dhan store was inaugurated to promote products exclusively made of materials available in forests. “One of the features of the city is SGNP. A rich forest with flora and fauna, is ideal for sustainable development,” forest minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, said at the event.