(Representative image)

RAJKOT: Hundreds of people, including school children and college students participated in rallies across 1,500 villages of Saurashtra region on occasion of World Lion Day on Wednesday. They also took pledge for conservation of Asiatic lions.

This was one the largest awareness campaigns initiated by the forest department where over 4 lakh people took pledge to save lions in the region. School children, hundreds of them, took out rallies in their villages wearing lion masks. They walked across the villages with slogans to save the lions.

"There was overwhelming response from all quarters for the World Lion Day celebration," said Ram Ratan Nala, deputy conservator of forest, wildlife division, Sasan, talking about the rallies organized by the forest department in Junagadh, Gir Somnath and Amreli districts. "The events were held in collaboration with schools and other concerned departments and it turned out to be successful. Rallies were held in 1,500 villages of 26 talukas of these districts," Nala added.

He said that nature lovers, NGOs, Block Resource Centre and Cluster Resource Centre coordinators actively participated in the campaign. "Such campaigns will go a long way in conservation of the Asiatic lions and forests," Nala said. According to the latest census, there are 523 lions in Saurashtra region.

Participation of over 4 lakh people for conservation of one single animal species and all of them taking pledge to save the lions was claimed to be a world record by a non-profit organisation World Records India.

