Dehradun (Uttarakhand): The right-wing organisations have objected over the names of the leopard cubs, which were shifted to Dehradun Zoo from Chidiyapur Rescue Centre in Uttarakhand. The two cubs were found 10 months ago in Tehri's Narendra Nagar and Haridwar's Shyampur area and were kept at Chidiyapur Rescue Centre.
Out of the two leopards, the female has been named Rukhsana and it is one year old. Similarly, the male leopard has been named Tahseem, is nine months old. The leopards have been named after the rescue centre's worker and his wife, who served them for 11 months at the Chidiyapur Rescue Centre. However, right-wing organisations have objected to the names of the cubs. They said that the officers could have named them carefully as the lions are 'vahanams' (vehicles) of some of the Hindu Gods. Hence, they warned that their names should be changed with immediate effect.
Tirth Purohit Ujjwal Pandit said, "The way the leopards have been named after a particular community clearly shows the intention of the authorities. The Tirth Purohit Samaj is objecting to this and demanding that they change their names with immediate effect." Ujjwal Pandit said, "The Hindu deities are not only being insulted by this, but our faith is also being hurt."
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Meanwhile, expressing objection to these names, Bajrang Dal has demanded action from the government. State convenor of Bajrang Dal Anuj Walia said that how can animals be named after employees. Anuj said why such names had been chosen. Bajrang Dal state convenor said that the government and the ministry concerned should intervene on this matter and keep the names of both leopards with legends or a special identity related to Uttarakhand.
Arvind Doval, in charge of Haridwar Chidiyapur Rescue Centre, said, "The two cubs have been named in the rescue centre of Haridwar. The reason behind this is that when both the cubs were brought to the rescue centre, they were being looked after by subaltern worker Tehseem and his wife Rukhsana. Both the cubs were nursed like babies by the staff. Both the cubs started recognising Tehseem and Rukhsana and this decision was taken only after seeing the love of both the animals towards the employees."
"The main reason for shifting both the leopards to Dehradun was that they had started eating meat. They were taken care of at the rescue centre till both were unable to eat meat, but now they can consume meat and are growing, so they have been shifted to Dehradun Zoo," Doval said.
