Amethi: National President of Samajwadi Party and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Monday met a youth from Amethi district, who has become an overnight sensation for befriending a Sarus crane, which was rescued him a year ago. The friendship of Mohammad Arif with the crane in Mandka village of Amethi district is the talk of the town.
Leave apart commoners, now politicians are coming to have a glimpse of the rare friendship between a bird and a man. Former UP CM and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav is the latest in the list, who visited Arif in his village at Mandka on Sunday. Yadav had come to Amethi for a day's visit to attend the wedding of former Cabinet minister Gayatri Prajapati's daughter.
The SP chief took time out of his schedule to meet Arif for his rare friendship with a crane. Appreciating Arif for the noble cause, Akhilesh Yadav told him that he has given a lovely message to humanity with his act. Akhilesh Yadav said that after hearing about the friendship between Arif and the crane, he could not stop himself from meeting Arif.
“This is a unique story in itself. Others should also draw inspiration from this,” Yadav said. The SP chief also congratulated Arif for saving the life of the injured crane after which it became his friend. He also called for efforts to protect the Sarus crane, which is coincidentally the state bird of UP. SP's Gauriganj MLA Rakesh Pratap Singh was present on the occasion.
The SP chief also took to Twitter over his visit to Arif. He also targeted the Yogi Adityanath government in the state for lack of measures to protect the Sarus cranes. “The SP government had taken measures like signing agreements with Stork Protection Society, Saras Mitra Scheme, International Stork Conservation Workshop and International Crane Foundation for the conservation of the state bird of Uttar Pradesh, Saras. Even today we stand with those who cooperated in the conservation of Storks, but the BJP government is missing,” he wrote.
After meeting Arif, Akhilesh Yadav's convoy reached Bhaddaur village of Musafir Khana where he met the families of the uncle-nephew, who were shot dead a few days ago. Later, his convoy left for Lucknow. Back in Amethi, Arif is in a lot of discussions these days about befriending the Sarus crane. Arif had got the crane's leg treated about a year ago. Since then the crane became a member of his house forever. Wherever Arif goes, the crane follows him there.
