Leopard safari project to come up in Pune's Junnar

State Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar has asked officials to prepare a comprehensive plan by February 15

A leopard safari project is coming up in Junnar in Pune district of Maharashtra, aimed to boost tourism and generate employment.

At a review meeting, state Forest, Fisheries and Cultural Affairs Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar has asked officials to prepare a comprehensive plan by February 15.

Among those present in the meeting were Principal Secretary (Forest) B Venugopal Reddy and Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Head of Forest Force) Y L P Rao.

“Junnar and neighbouring areas have a lot of leopards. The leopard safari would boost employment and tourism. Besides, Junnar has several tourism spots,” Mungantiwar said at the review meeting on Tuesday evening.

Nestled in the Sahyadri mountain ranges of the Western Ghats, dams like Manikdoh, Yedgaon on Kukadi river and the Chilewadi on Mandovi river give a unique look to the rich nature. Several notable temples lie on the banks of Kukadi river including the Vigneshwara Temple, Ozar and Malanga Devi.

The Khodad village in this tehsil also houses the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT), the largest telescope at metre wavelengths in the world, which attracts radio astronomers from different countries.

Junnar has been an important trading and political centre for the last two millennia. The town is on the trade route that links the ports of western India, specifically in the Konkan region with Deccan interiors. There are more than 220 individual rock-cut caves located in four hills around Junnar. The most famous among them is the Lenyadri complex.

It represents a series of about 30 rock-cut caves. One cave is a famous Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Ganesha. Several inscriptions related to donations by Yavanas have been found at the Junnar caves.