Madhya Pradesh came alive with a unique auto-rickshaw rally this winter to raise funds for securing four critical elephant corridors in Assam.
The rally, graced by eminent personalities, including Indian-American designer and actor, Waris Ahluwalia, raised a sum of 1.3m pounds, which is going to be spent on the creation of the corridors and the relocation of villages. Elephant Family, a charity set up by elephant lover, the late Mark Shand, brother of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, organized the fundraiser between November 1 and 8 last year as part of the “Travels to my Elephant” charity.
A fleet of 40 auto-rickshaws, all designed by the racers themselves, undertook this epic journey of about 500 km touching upon such exotic and thrilling locations as Khajuraho, the Panna national park, Umaria, Kosamghat campsite and the Kanha reserve forest.
Last year, Their Royal Highnesses Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, as patrons of the Elephant Family, had raised 7,00,000 pounds from a charity which saw 20 remodelled auto-rickshaws going under the hammer in London. The royal couple plan to secure around 100 corridors for elephants in India (including Jharkhand and Odisha) in the next 10 years to address the threats to elephants and other wildlife in this region.
CEO, Elephant Family, Ruth Powys, said from London, “The Assam project will include the relocation of villages, new housing, new agriculture land and new livelihood support for the locals.”
Sandeep Tiwari, deputy director and head, wild land, the Wildlife Trust of India, which is partnering Elephant Family, said they are focusing on the Kalapahar-Daigurung corridor in Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong region. “In phase I, we are voluntarily relocating the Ram Terang village and in phase II, we will take up the voluntary relocation of Toklangso village,” said Tiwari.
“The final leg of the adventurous ride in Madhya Pradesh took the guests from the Kosamghat campsite to Kanha where they crossed the finish line,” said Ben Elliot, chairman of Quintessentially Foundation, an organization that supports unique charities worldwide and is part of the project. “Racers were also treated to a Holi party and screening of all Mark Shand’s films. The crowning moment of the rally was the meeting of the racers with Tara, the elephant whom Mark Shand had saved in Odisha, at the Kipling Camp,” informed Ben, who was at the rally.
A spokesperson from WTI said the Kalapahar-Daigurung corridor should be ready by 2017. The other three corridors, Panbari, Kanchanjuri and Amguri, connecting Kaziranga with Karbi Anglong, will be protected with the involvement of local communities designated as green corridor monitors.