After The Bulldozer, A 'Crane' Finds Itself At The Centre Of UP Politics

The Uttar Pradesh (UP) forest department, two political parties, and a sarus crane and its temporary caretaker have been in the middle of an interesting tussle, as reported in the Indian Express.

The Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have been exchanging heated words over UP's state bird.

Meanwhile, the man who cared for the bird and formed a bond with it has been charged by the state forest department.

Akhilesh Yadav criticised the UP state government for booking Amethi resident Mohammed Arif under the Wildlife Protection Act and accused them of playing politics.

In response, state BJP president Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary accused Yadav of using the sarus crane issue to further his political agenda.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced plans to develop parks for the conservation of the state animal, the swamp deer (barasingha), and the sarus crane.

The matter began in February last year when Arif rescued an injured crane and cared for it for a year. The pair gained fame after their videos went viral on social media. On 5 March, Yadav visited the duo and shared pictures on Twitter.

The forest department then transferred the crane from Arif's house to the Samaspur Bird Sanctuary in Raebareli on 21 March.

Yadav accused the department of doing this because he had visited the sarus and its caretaker in Amethi, but officials denied the allegation.

The bird later went missing and was discovered by a man nearly 500 metres from the sanctuary, who said he had saved the bird from a pack of dogs. On 25 March, the bird was moved to Kanpur Zoo.

It's been a war of words over the course of this episode, some of it comical, with claims back and forth of targeting one another other, even the bird, of Arif's connection with the SP, questions over the move to take away the sarus crane for conservation, and accusations involving Muslim voters.

Arif, though, has denied having any links with the SP. He said his only wish is for the sarus crane to be back in its natural habitat within the jungles of Amethi.