Maha Forest Department to participate in Mumbai Marathon

Maharashtra Government's Forest Department will use the upcoming Mumbai Marathon as a platform to create awareness about tiger conservation and spread the message of animal and environment protection.

The marathon, one of India's most prestigious annual sporting events, will take place on January 17 and see participation from international athletes.

Also, the 8km 'Dream Run' will be inaugurated by Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar and 30 employees of his department will participate in it wearing T-shirts with the slogan 'Save Tiger' written on them.

"Mumbai Marathon is the fifth largest international competition which sees participation of runners with national and international repute.

"About 50,000 runners will participate in the run this year. People on both sides of roads stand to cheer these runners. Thus, this is the most suitable platform to spread awareness about forests, animal protection and tiger conservation," Mungantiwar said.

He said a motivational zone has been created as part of the marathon, where one can enjoy folk songs on Tadoba forest (in Chandrapur district, which houses a tiger reserve), other green areas and also traditional dance forms.

"This will include the Tiger Dance, which will be performed by 10 dancers from Chandrapur. The zone will have a fibre statue of tiger, where lovers of the big cat can click selfies with it," he said.