Like the Royal Bengal Tiger, Kolkata’s iconic yellow taxis are also becoming endangered. As a result, a day before the International Tiger Day, a tiger-themed yellow Taxi was flagged off at Victoria Memorial on Friday. Also, a panel discussion titled “Tiger Conservation - The Road Ahead” was organised.
The flag-off ceremony
Dinanath Shaw, the driver and the owner of the yellow taxi, said he has been driving in the city for the past 12 years. Before that, he was in the school canteen business with his father. “After the schools went into the contractual mode of business, we failed to compete with the big names and I became a cabbie,” Shaw added.
The taxi with driver Dinanath Shaw
Also interested in wildlife, Shaw was delighted when the organisers approached him to paint his taxi to create awareness for Big Cats. “This is a tiger-striped vinyl sticker. The taxi will be on public display at Victoria Memorial till Saturday and after that, Shaw will again embark on his routine trips around the city ferrying people,” said Korak Basu, an organiser. According to Basu, the tiger, Victoria Memorial, and the yellow taxi together would serve as a powerful representation of the city’s rich heritage, cultural diversity and commitment to preserving the region’s wilderness and natural wonders.
A child posing in the taxi
Panel discussion
The panelists included Biswajit Roy Chowdhury, a member of the West Bengal Wildlife Board & secretary, whose expertise in environmental matters and conservation strategies are widely acknowledged; Shiladitya Chaudhury, wildlife photographer, communications consultant and restaurateur, famous for capturing the raw beauty of nature across the globe and filmmaker Riingo Banerjee. The discussion was moderated by Korak Basu.
A panel discussion titled “Tiger Conservation - The Road Ahead” was organised
In his inaugural speech, Samarendra Kumar, secretary and curator Victoria Memorial, said, “I am delighted to be a part of this wonderful cause and convey my unwavering support towards tiger conservation initiatives in the region. I applaud the collaborative efforts of all stakeholders involved in making the panel discussion and the taxi-themed campaign a success.” Roy Chowdhury said if there is no tiger, there will be no forest. “The tiger is at the top of the food chain that controls the population of herbivorous animals in the forest. Currently, there are over 3,100 tigers in India. We have come a long way but we have to go a long way”.
People around the parked taxi at victoria take selfies
Talking about Sunderban's tigers, Shiladitya Chaudhury stressed on the importance of mangrove conservation. Riingo Banerjee spoke about his recent experience while shooting a film related to tigers. At the end of the panel discussion, the special tiger-themed taxi was flagged off.
