Gir lions death issue: Amicus Curiae Hemang shah submits suggestion brief in the High Court

Ahmedabad: The amicus curiae of the Gujarat high court in the matter of lions deaths in and around Gir Sanctuary in Gujarat, Hemang Shah in his brief given to the court has given several suggestions.

The court had sought suggestions on preventing lions deaths during hearing of this matter in January this year.

The court was hearing the matter after the death of three young lions in Savarkundala area getting run over by a goods train in December last year.

An amicus curiae (literally, “friend of the court”; plural, amici curiae) is someone who is not a party to a case and may or may not have been solicited by a party and who assists a court by offering information, expertise, or insight that has a bearing on the issues in the case; and is typically presented in the form of a brief. The decision on whether to consider an amicus brief lies within the discretion of the court.

In his brief Shah has reportedly included nine points including those related to lack of radio collaring and GPS tracking of lions, lack of natural hunt for them, issues related to railway tracks passing through the jungle, open wells in areas around the forest, electric fencing, illegal mining, illegal lions shows and said dearth of lion trackers. It has also suggested to stop the movement of goods trains during night time.
He has also suggested that there should be radio collaring in more and more lions for proper tracking, proper arrangement for drinking water and natural hunt should be there. Illegal lion shows should be made illegal offence.

Earlier last year the high court had directed the state government and forest authorities to complete the pending projects of putting up fencing along railway tracks and covering open wells. The action-taken report had then revealed that some tasks were still pending. The railways said that by cutting train speed, putting up fences on both the sides of tracks, and giving proper training to its staff, 63 lions could be saved over the past three years. However, Shah contended that wildlife faces threats despite the fencing.
On hearing this, the high court said that the railways should use latest technology to avert accidents. The bench asked Shah to give suggestions on how lives of Asiatic lions can be saved without disturbing the run of trains in forest areas. Shah had earlier suggested the installation of CCTV cameras, restricting traffic during night and putting speed limit on vehicles plying on roads in the Gir sanctuary.

DeshGujarat