Prime Minister Narendra Modi will release cheetahs brought from Namibia in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park on Saturday as part of his efforts to revitalise and diversify the country’s wildlife and habitat, his office said.

Eight cheetahs, five female and three male, will be brought to Jaipur in Rajasthan on September 17 in the cargo aircraft as part of an inter-continental translocation project.

Cheetah was declared extinct in India in 1952. The cheetahs that would be released are from Namibia and have been brought under an MoU signed earlier this year.

On September 17, which is also Modi’s birthday, the prime minister will also participate in Self Help Group (SHG) Sammelan later that day with women SHG members/community resource persons at Karahal, Sheopur.

Prime Minister Modi will visit Madhya Pradesh on September 17 and at around 10:45 AM he will release cheetahs in Kuno National Park, a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said.

The release of wild cheetahs by the prime minister in Kuno National Park is part of his efforts to revitalise and diversify India’s wildlife and its habitat, the statement said.

The introduction of cheetah in India is being done under Project Cheetah, which is world’s first inter-continental large wild carnivore translocation project, the statement said.

Cheetahs will help in the restoration of open forest and grassland ecosystems in India, it said.

Cheetaj Project: an endeavour to save the biodiversity and ecosystem

This will help conserve biodiversity and enhance ecosystem services like water security, carbon sequestration and soil moisture conservation, benefiting the society at large.

This effort, in line with the prime minister’s commitment towards environment protection and wildlife conservation, will also lead to enhanced livelihood opportunities for the local community through eco-development and eco-tourism activities, the statement said.

Prime Minister Modi will also participate in the SHG Sammelan that will witness the attendance of thousands of women Self Help Group (SHG) members/community resource persons that are being promoted under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM).

During the programme, Prime Minister Modi will also be inaugurating four Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) skilling centres under the PM Kaushal Vikas Yojana.

DAY-NRLM aims at mobilising rural poor households into SHGs in a phased manner and provide them long-term support to diversify their livelihoods, improve their incomes and quality of life, the statement said.

The Mission is also working towards empowering the women SHG members through awareness generation and behaviour change communication on issues like domestic violence, women’s education and other gender related concerns, nutrition, sanitation, health etc., it said.

Special jumbo jets arrive in Namibia

A specially customised B747 jumbo jet has arrived here in the Namibian capital to bring eight cheetahs to India’s Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh where they will be re-introduced after the wild cats faced extinction in the 1950s.

“A special bird touches down in the Land of the Brave to carry goodwill ambassadors to the Land of the Tiger,” the High Commission of India in Windhoek tweeted on Wednesday.

They will then be flown from Jaipur to their new home — Kuno National Park in the Sheopur district of Madhya Pradesh — in helicopters.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will release these cheetahs into the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh on his birthday on September 17.

The aircraft bringing the cheetahs to India has been modified to allow cages to be secured in the main cabin but will still allow vets to have full access to the cats during the flight.

It has been painted with the image of a tiger. The aircraft is an ultra-long range jet capable of flying for up to 16 hours and so can fly directly from Namibia to India without a stop to refuel, an important consideration for the well-being of the cheetahs.

Cheetah will have to spend their entire air transit period empty stomach, a senior Indian forest department official said on Tuesday.

Such a precaution is needed as a long journey may create nausea-like feelings in animals leading to other complications.

The large carnivore got completely wiped out from India due to their use for coursing, sport hunting, overhunting and habitat loss. The government declared the cheetah extinct in the country in 1952.

The last spotted feline died in 1948 in the Sal forests of Chhattisgarh’s Koriya district.

Starting in the 1970s, the efforts of the Indian government to re-establish the species in its historical ranges in the country led to the signing of a pact with Namibia, which donated the first eight individuals to launch the Cheetah reintroduction programme on July 20 this year.

(With PTI Inputs)