Porbandar: More than 5000 people in Porbandar came together to support ‘Vhali’ the whale shark as their pride symbol and pledged for its protection at a rally jointly organized by the Forest Department and the district collectorate in Porbandar on April 28. The rally was organized on the eve of the Gujarat Day celebrations scheduled on May 01.

As part of this revelry, thousands gave unyielding support for conservation of this species which visits the coasts of Gujarat every year. Jaswant Singh Bhabore, the state minister for Forest and Environment flagged off the rally near Kirti temple. Sheela Benjamin, District Collector, Rekhaben Lakhani, President of Nagarpalika and other dignitaries participated in the ceremony.

At 5 pm, the 45 feet long inflatable whale shark was mounted on two camel carts which was closely followed by 5000 participants upto the Sudama Chowk in the heart of the city. The site of the rally – the birth place of Mahatma Gandhi was symbolic to the event, since he relentlessly preached for conservation during his period.

Children from 50 schools, members of the Boat Owners Association, NGOs, coast guards, forest officials, volunteers of the Tata Chemicals, cultural groups, and other citizens participated in the rally. A colorful ‘vanjara’ dance troupe from Mithapur also came to participate in the rally. Traditional attires, uniforms of school children, and cultural troupes offered a multicolored ambience.

According to Dhiresh Joshi of the Wildlife Trust of India, who is managing the Whale Shark Campaign in Gujarat, “The purpose of the rally was to highlight the overall conservation issues in the state, in addition to endangered species such as the whale shark. The huge turnout of people at the event made it successful.”

Vivek Talwar, Corporate Quality Head of Tata Chemicals Ltd. Mithapur said, ” Today we at Tata Chemicals Ltd. are glad to see that whale shark is no longer an unknown fish, but thanks to the campaign that we have supported, and are involved in, Vhali the whale shark has entered the hearts and minds of the people of Gujarat. It was great to see the spontaneous participation of the people of Porbandar in the rally.”

In the year 2004, the Wildlife Trust of India initiated the Whale Shark Campaign in partnership with the Tata Chemicals, Mithapur and the Gujarat Heavy Chemicals Ltd. to bring about an attitudinal change among the fishermen community for conservation of the species. This campaign yielded good support from all sections of the society and many cities – Porbandar, Diu, Dwarka, Okha and Ahmedabad adopted the whale shark as their city mascot.