New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS): Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav on Saturday flagged off a rally on wheels 'India for Tigers' from three tiger reserves on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti to mark the Iconic Week of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav of the ministry.
He flagged off the Tiger rallies in three tiger reserves - Navegaon Nagzira Tiger Reserve, Maharashtra, Biligiri Ranganatha Temple Tiger Reserve, Karnataka and Sanjay-Dubri Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh.
"We are trustees, not owners," said the Union Environment Minister while launching 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav-Iconic week' of the ministry.
He said that an intensive countrywide campaign with active citizen participation will be converted into a 'Janandolan' at the local level which will add up to significant national gains and help reinforce the trusteeship concept and living in harmony with nature during the 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav - Iconic week' and after the week.
The pan-India outreach activity has the twin objectives of celebrating India's 75 years of Independence and spreading the message of biodiversity conservation under the ambit of Project Tiger and Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats (IDWH) programme of Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change.
The rallies will culminate at Ranthambore, Kanha, Melghat, Bandipur, Similipal, Sunderbans, Manas, Palamau and Corbett tiger reserves, representing the country's initial nine tiger reserves designated under The Project Tiger in 1973.
The Environment Minister also released a field guide for monitoring Ganga and Indus river dolphins, associated aquatic fauna and habitat.
For the first time, a standardised monitoring protocol has been made and will be employed for synchronised Dolphin enumeration exercise to be undertaken in states of Assam, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Punjab.
Dolphin estimation is an important process and constituent of "Project Dolphin".
The monitoring protocol methodology includes visual monitoring of Gangetic Dolphin population.