Tejas Navale
Pune, February 5, 2025: The victory procession taken out by the NCP MLA from the Bhor-Velhe assembly constituency after being elected as MLA has drawn the Forest Department’s ire. In a significant action, the Forest Department has decided to take action against the organisers of the procession.
Recently, villagers of the Bhor-Velhe assembly constituency took the victory procession of newly elected MLA Shankar Mandhekar on an elephant and distributed 125 kg of pedha on the elephant. In this regard, the Forest Department has registered a case against the organiser of the procession, Rahul Balkawade, for violating the Wildlife Protection Act. In addition, a case has also been registered against the president of the Tasgaon Ganpati Panchayat Sansthan, who provided the elephant for the procession.
The photos and videos of this procession went very much viral on social media. After that, Pune’s wildlife conservationist Aditya Paranjpe lodged a complaint against Mandhekar and the organisers of the event with the Forest Department. Gathering all the supportive evidence, the Forest Department has registered a complaint.
As per the information, villagers from Urawade, Ambegaon, Botarwadi, Marnewadi, Gadewadi, Kanjnenagar, Shelarwadi, Kalbhorwadi, Chorghewadi, Balkawadewadi, and Gawaliwada participated in this procession and distributed 125 kg of pedha.
