Lion census 2015: Rich mix of courtiers to count king

AHMEDABAD: Niranjan Savani (39), a dentist in Pennsylvania, has taken urgent leave from work to come to India for two weeks. Not for any pressing personal engagement but to engage himself in the matters of heart — to take part in the four-day lion census beginning May 2.

Like Savani, many nature lovers have dropped their stethoscopes or kept aside their corporate suits or shunned blackboards to pack their bags for the lion census 2015. Six NRGs, 25 doctors, 60 professors, teachers, advocates, government employees, corporate staffers and 75 naturalists constitute the core group of 200 volunteers for the big event.

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These volunteers will be accompanying 2,200-member strong teams of forest officials, including experts from Wildlife Institute of India (WII).

“I have grown up in Amreli attending camps in Gir sanctuary. In the US, there are green corridors even for the deer. My dream project would be a green corridor for the lions. If lions have to be sent to MP, they should go on their own through a green corridor and not packed in trucks,” says Savani.

Dr Tushar Vaishnav, a radiologist in Vadodara, has shut down his clinic from May 1 to May 7. For him, counting the lions is a dream come true. “Nature sustains us; being with the nature and helping its sustenance is an honour,” says Dr Vaishnav.

Abhist Thakar, an advocate at Gujarat high court, has postponed all his appearances in court from May 2 to May 6. “I am a nature lover to the core of my heart. Volunteering for lion census is my way of giving back to the Mother Nature,” says Thakar.