Ist vulture conservation centre in Maharajganj

Gorakhpur: The central government has given its nod for Uttar Pradesh’s first vulture conservation centre—Jatayu Conservation and Breeding Centre—to be built in Maharajganj district.
The government has asked the district forest officer to submit a detailed project report within 10 days. “CAMPA Budget for this financial year has been already approved,” DFO (Gorakhpur division) Avinash Kumar told TOI on Thursday.
“Principal chief conservation of forest (PCCF), Uttar Pradesh, Sunil Pandey, informed on Wednesday that the project has been approved by the central government.He asked me to submit a detailed project report within 10 days,” said Kumar.
“For technical knowhow, help will be taken from Bombay Natural History Society. Lab shelter, residential complex for doctors and other facilities will be built at the centre,” added the DFO.
“As per our approximation, the entire project will require Rs 4-5 crore. However, the detailed report is yet to be prepared. A budget of Rs 82 lakh has been approved by the state government. The centre will be built on a 5-hectare land in Bhari-Baisi village in Farenda tehsil of Maharajganj district,” said Kumar.
“In the first phase, infrastructure of the centre will be built, while work for conservation of vultures will be done in the second phase. At last, the breeding phase will start so that a certain number of vultures could be left in the forest,” explained the DFO.
Mike Harigovind Pandey, environmentalist and Delhi-based filmmaker, said, “Vulture conservation is an urgent need of the hour as their numbers are decreasing rapidly. As many as 79 million vultures have died in the last decade. The main cause behind their death is an imported lethal drug called diclofenac which leads to crystallization in their kidneys.”