After establishing an empire setting up businesses in every sector under the sun, the Ambanis have entered the animal business and are now setting up their own animal kingdom. The ‘Greens Zoological, Rescue, and Rehabilitation Kingdom’ is being established in Gujarat’s Jamnagar by Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) as an exotic destination of animals that will function both as a zoo and animal shelter.
The Central Zoo Authority (CZA) coming under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has approved the Master Layout Plan for this mammoth project of Reliance. However, this entire project has remained low-key with access to the area being restricted and information about the project in public domain being minimal.
For this ‘animal kingdom’, creatures are already being sourced from different places. It is being said that exotic species from different countries are being imported. These include – African Lion, African Elephant, Cheetah, Jaguar, Giraffe, Kangaroo, Ostrich, Chimpanzee, Gorilla, Orangutans, Lemurs, White Rhino, Impala, Pheasants, Marmoset, Binturong to name a few. The Master Layout Plan enlists some 79 different species of animals, amphibians and birds that consists of both native (Indian) and exotic species.
While the master layout plan proposes to house 6 Asian Elephants, it is being said that ‘108 elephants’ are being accumulated by Reliance for this animal kingdom cum rehabilitation centre.
It is also alleged that these elephants are being procured from different parts of the country through dubious means. Videos have also surfaced where elephants can be seen with legs tied closely with ropes and leash and being transported.
This how they are tied and transported when the Elephant refused to move! All this nonsense happening during the biggest pandemic in the country by rascals who were suppose to protect our wildlife! They did the same to Lakshmi of Pondy & Deivanai of Thiruperungundram!
8/8 pic.twitter.com/2g5UoRaEPD— Muraliத் தேவரின் குரல்! (@rawincare1) September 10, 2020
Murali, a Chennai based elephant activist says that Reliance is associating themselves with NGOs like Wildlife SOS and going after private elephant owners and poor mahouts by buying their elephants for throw away prices or by slapping cases of animal cruelty against them if they refuse to part with the animal. These elephants are being taken from temples, circus, and other individual elephant owners. In a series of tweets he said that 54 elephants have been accumulated till date.
Now the Elephant stealing Mafia with the help of Maneka confiscating & handing over Elephants to Ambani's! An absolute & shameful act by revered family, working with the Mafia!
5/8 pic.twitter.com/TuN93RmOG1
— Muraliத் தேவரின் குரல்! (@rawincare1) September 10, 2020
Most of the elephants are reportedly sourced from Assam, Jaipur, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
Remember the elephant that Surya and Shruthi Hasan rode in the movie 7-am Arivu? Her name is Gulebagavali, an elephant from Tamil Nadu. She is now in the Jamnagar animal kingdom.
Speaking to The Commune, a family member of Gulebagavali’s original owner told that the elephant was raised by their family ever since she was a calf. She was handed over to a relative for taking care post the owner’s demise as the owner’s grandson who was next in line to take care of the elephant had gone to pursue higher studies. But, the relatives had sent Gulebagavali on a 2 year lease period to Jaipur.
The grandson thought of getting back the elephant from Jaipur after the lease period. He had reached out to the custodians of the elephant in Jaipur to get back his elephant and was even willing to shell out ₹15 lakhs if need be. However, he was told that they had sold Gulebagavali to Reliance’s animal kingdom for ₹12 lakhs.
Probing further, The Commune found that 4 elephants from the Rambo Circus have been sent to the Jamnagar animal kingdom four years back. The Indian Express had reported about this on January 2, 2017. The four elephants – Anar, Nitya, Champa and Saraswati bid adieu to the circus and its owner to spend their rest of the lives in Jamnagar. The circus had got in touch with one Ghom Bahadur, a trustee of a temple in Jamnagar. It was agreed that the ownership of the elephant would remain with the circus while elephant’s food, medical, maintenance and other expenses would be taken care by the temple trust. Along with the elephants, 7 mahouts who took care of the elephants were also shifted to Jamnagar. It was also reported that there were 3 additional staffs and a veterinarian to take care of the elephants.
This facility for the elephants in Jamnagar is said to be 160 acres, comprising of trees like teak wood and also has a huge pond to give the elephants the natural environment they need.
The owner of Rambo Circus had come to the decision to part away with his elephants as the circus had spent a lot of time, money and effort in fighting legal battles for the circus animals brought upon them by Animal Welfare Board of India at the behest of NGOs like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), Wildlife SOS and ResQ Animal Coalition. This had resulted in major financial losses that made the maintenance of elephants difficult.
“It is to avoid sending these elephants to the centres run by Wildlife SOS that the circus owner sent it to Jamnagar animal kingdom in the hope that it will lead a better life there, as many elephants taken over by Wildlife SOS had died in their shelter camps”, a source related to Gulebagavali elephant said.
Elephant activist Murali notes that the Ambanis are going after such elephants where the ownership is in question or the ones which are entangled in legal troubles created by NGOs like Wildlife SOS and PETA.
Most of these elephants are being taken by a temple trust called the Radha Krishna Temple Elephant Welfare Trust through gift deeds. These gift deeds are registered on ₹20 stamp paper which is kept a secret. It is to be noted that buying/selling animals through gift deeds are banned.
Although they say that the ownership of the elephant remains with the original owner, a clause is inserted in the gift deeds that states that the original owner is not allowed to ask for the return of the elephants.
A close source related to the development said that the original owners are not even apprised of how their elephants are doing leave alone letting them see their elephants once in a while. “Initially they send pictures and videos of the elephants, but later that also stops”, laments an elephant owner.
Speaking to The Commune, Mr. Sathya Narayanan of the Indu Makkal Katchi who has been aware of these developments told that while the Ambanis may have their intentions right, their associations with NGOs like Wildlife SOS and individuals like Sangita Iyer (a Canadian documentary filmmaker who demonized mahouts and caretakers of temple elephants in Kerala) is questionable.
Mr. Sathya says that foreign NGOs like Wildlife SOS and PETA are influencing and interfering in Indian policy making through their high profile connections in the Central government by making changes to dog breeding rules, aquarium rules, elephant shelter camps, etc.
“They Ambanis have the required facilities to take good care of the animals, and we in fact appreciate them for it, but their modus operandi of going after elephants by associating with dubious NGOs and individuals is disappointing. They are not just hitting on the livelihoods of the persons whose lives are dependent on these animals but are also separating them from these animals from their original owner which is akin to separating a family.”, Mr. Sathya Narayanan said.
“Let the Ambanis have the elephants in their animal kingdom. We don’t have any problem. We just want them to ensure that their original owners are compensated fairly and are allowed access to their elephants.”, said Mr. Sathya.
He added that the IMK is willing to help the Ambanis in their endeavours.
Meanwhile, a source related to Gulebagavali told that they have written to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s Cell, the Madurai division of the Forest Department and also to the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau in the hope of getting their elephant back. He told that since the Forest Department is also hand-in-glove in this, their complaint just does not see any progress.
But one of the Forest Ranger has been proactively taking steps and has assured Gulebagavali’s care takers that their elephant shall be brought back.
“We just hope that someday we get to see our Gulebagavali. We miss her!”, Gulabagavali’s care takers say.