Batting for rhinos
Sixes in the IPL give the Kaziranga National Park a boost
The authorities at the Kaziranga National Park (KNP) in Assam are watching the ongoing IPL matches with a special interest — they’re particularly interested in sixes, and hope there will be more and more humungous hits during the tournament.
One such six, hit by India and Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma in a match against Gujarat Titans on Sunday, touched a Tata car parked outside the boundary line — and made a huge difference to the onehorned Rhinos in the forests of Assam. “We have an agreement with Tata Motors (the main sponsors of the IPL) under which every sixer touching the car will earn `5 lakh for the conservation of one-horned rhinos at our park,” says Jatindra Sarma, Chief Conservator of Forests and Field Director.
“Tata Motors launched its Kaziranga Edition of SUVs taking inspiration from this crown jewel of India in February 2022. The Indian one-horned rhino, which is the symbol of our park, is also the mascot of these Tata SUVs,” said the Indian Forest Service officer.
“This initiative of donation is spreading curiosity and awareness of our world heritage site,” Sarma added.
“Other than this initiative they are running some engagement activities on the IPL platform, which are also helping garner a lot of attention on our efforts
WE HAVE AN AGREEMENT WITH TATA MOTORS (THE MAIN SPONSORS OF THE IPL) UNDER WHICH EVERY SIXER TOUCHING THE CAR WILL EARN `5 LAKH FOR THE CONSERVATION OF ONE-HORNED RHINOS AT OUR PARK
— JATINDRA SARMA, CHIEF CONSERVATOR OF FORESTS AND FIELD DIRECTOR.
here,” he says.
A total of 2613 rhinos were counted at the KNP in March this year. In 2018, there were only 2018 of these big beasts.
Rohit Sharma, who is also an animal lover, launched the “Rohit4Rhinos” campaign in September 2019. It was done in partnership with WWF India and Animal Planet.