KOLKATA: ‘Akbar’ may become ‘Suraj‘, ‘Sita’ may be named ‘Tanaya’. State govt has proposed to Central Zoo Authority (CZA) new names for the two lions that came from Tripura. Their names, Akbar and Sita, had snowballed into a major row, with right-wingers protesting the “disrespect” and moving court.
Following the observation of Calcutta HC’s Jalpaiguri circuit bench that controversial names should be avoided, West Bengal Zoo Authority has forwarded to CZA the proposal to rechristen the big cats ‘Suraj’ and ‘Tanaya’.
VHP had moved the circuit bench in Feb, saying naming a lion Sita was offensive. Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya had observed he did not support naming the other lion Akbar after the successful and secular Mughal emperor.
The 7-year-old male and the 6-year-old female were brought from Sepahijala Zoological Park to Siliguri’s Bengal Safari in an exchange programme on Feb 12. In its affidavit in court, state govt had said the lions were named in Tripura. Subsequently, Tripura’s principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife and ecotourism) Prabin Lal Agrawal was suspended.
State additional advocate general Joyjit Choudhury had said in HC that Bengal intended to rename the lions.
A senior forester said on Wednesday: “The proposed names have been sent to CZA. Now it is up to them to either go by these or give them digital names.”
Choudhury told TOI: “Once these names are cleared, they will be entered in the records. After that, if the pair gives birth in future, the names of the cubs’ parents will be registered as ‘Suraj’ and ‘Tanaya’.”
A Bengal Safari official refused to comment on the matter since the case was sub judice.
Following the observation of Calcutta HC’s Jalpaiguri circuit bench that controversial names should be avoided, West Bengal Zoo Authority has forwarded to CZA the proposal to rechristen the big cats ‘Suraj’ and ‘Tanaya’.
VHP had moved the circuit bench in Feb, saying naming a lion Sita was offensive. Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya had observed he did not support naming the other lion Akbar after the successful and secular Mughal emperor.
The 7-year-old male and the 6-year-old female were brought from Sepahijala Zoological Park to Siliguri’s Bengal Safari in an exchange programme on Feb 12. In its affidavit in court, state govt had said the lions were named in Tripura. Subsequently, Tripura’s principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife and ecotourism) Prabin Lal Agrawal was suspended.
State additional advocate general Joyjit Choudhury had said in HC that Bengal intended to rename the lions.
A senior forester said on Wednesday: “The proposed names have been sent to CZA. Now it is up to them to either go by these or give them digital names.”
Choudhury told TOI: “Once these names are cleared, they will be entered in the records. After that, if the pair gives birth in future, the names of the cubs’ parents will be registered as ‘Suraj’ and ‘Tanaya’.”
A Bengal Safari official refused to comment on the matter since the case was sub judice.