For Anant Ambani, Vantara, which has received the ‘Prani Mitra’ National Award, India’s highest distinction in animal welfare by the Government of India, in the ‘Corporate’ category, is a chance to give back to societyread morePrime Minister Narendra Modi recently inaugurated Vantara’s Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre in Jamnagar, Gujarat.For Anant Ambani, Vantara, which has received the ‘Prani Mitra’ National Award, India’s highest distinction in animal welfare by the Government of India, in the ‘Corporate’ category, is a chance to give back to society.Anant Ambani launched Vantara, an ambitious wildlife preservation initiative backed by Reliance Industries and the Reliance Foundation. Vantara, located within the Jamnagar Refinery Complex in Gujarat, India, covers 3,000 acres and acts as a refuge for mistreated, wounded, and endangered animals. Vantara is a comprehensive rehabilitation centre that strives to provide a natural and supportive atmosphere for its residents.AdvertisementDuring the event, Anant Ambani spoke extensively about how his parents, Reliance Industries Limited Chairman and MD Mukesh Ambani and Nita Ambani, founder and chairman of the Reliance Foundation, instilled and encouraged his beliefs.“My father is one of the biggest wildlife buffs. For example, when we were young, I think till the age of 18, I’ve not gone to any other family holiday, except Africa, Ranthambore and the jungles of Kanha, Bandhavgarh and Kaziranga. My father would only take us to jungle holidays. So I think they inspired me to do this. And to be honest, for domestic animals, there are many people who are doing a lot of good work across the country,” Anant Ambani had said.“My mother, mostly rescued Gauri, our first elephant. And my mother, as you know, is my biggest inspiration. I think Gauri is our favourite among the family. And my brother’s son, Prithvi, his only vacation is Jamnagar. So whenever he gets up, my whole family’s vacation point is Jamnagar. We don’t go anywhere else,” he added.“In our Sanatan, every deity has an animal which is close to her or his heart. Every deity has a vahana. Vahana is that animal. And in our Rig Veda, Krishna says that all life is equal, be it a human or a bee, or an ant. Everything is equal. Here we take care [of animals] from frogs to mice to everything,” he had said.Advertisement“Something that drives my cause is animal welfare. There are a lot of people working [for human welfare] but in animal welfare, there are few people working. I think I was the chosen one and I was fortunate enough to have God’s blessings… that I could do seva of animals. For me, in today’s life, you can’t see God, but I see God within every animal. They say in our dharm that a cow has 64 crore ‘devtas’ inside her. But for me, not only in a cow, I see God in every animal. It’s my way of giving back to society.”Advertisement“I’ve healed a lot in my own way and I think it’s because of the animals. I’ve had my own battles with myself, battles with health. But I’ve overcome those. I think one of the biggest reasons is the blessings of the animals we have rescued. And more than that, it also makes me feel that we’re contributing to society in some way.”“Radhika is also extremely passionate about this. Both of us combined and with my parents’ blessings and my siblings Akash and Isha’s blessings, I think what you’ve seen now is only 8- 10 per cent of my vision.”Ambani’s vision for Vantara is that it would be the world’s most advanced wildlife institute as well as conserve and breed critically endangered species so the animals can be released back in the habitat.Advertisement“My vision is that at Vantara in Jamnagar, we would like to be the world’s most advanced wildlife institute and we would also like to conserve and breed critically endangered species so we can release them back in the habitat. A lot of species are going extinct,” he said.Ambani also stated that Vantara is a Sevalaya meant for rehabilitating, rescuing, preserving and conserving endangered species.“In Hindi, there’s a word, Chidiyaghar, not Chidiya Sevalaya. We have made this a Sevalaya. It’s an area where we only rehabilitate, rescue, preserve, conserve and breed the endangered species. It’s not a zoo. It’s not for entertainment.”AdvertisementMore from India
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PM Modi visits Vantara wildlife rescue, rehabilitation and conservation centre in GujaratEnd of Article
Original article:
As PM Modi visits Vantara, Anant Ambani explains why he built the project for wildlife welfare
