Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], April 12 : Arif Khan Gurjar, who came into the limelight due to his friendship with a Sarus crane, which was later taken away by the authorities, met his winged friend at the Kanpur zoo on Tuesday.
The video of the meeting went viral on social media, and people got emotional watching it.
Arif was able to meet his friend after the bird's 15-day quarantine period ended at the zoological park.
Looking at Arif, the bird cheered in happiness and started flapping its wings, trying to come out of the cage.
Arif also expressed immense happiness after meeting his 'crane friend and urged the government to take proper care of the bird.
Talking to , he said, "I am happy at receiving people's love and support. I hope that this love and support will one day unite me with his friend. I also urge that the bird should instead be kept in a bird sanctuary, where it can breathe in open air, as here it is not comfortable in a closed atmosphere".
The matter pertains to more than a year ago, when Arif, who is a resident of Amethi, found a sarus crane in an injured state. He nursed the bird to recovery and also gave shelter to it at his house.
With time, the bonding between the bird and Arif grew and the Sarus became part of Arif's family.
However, after the forest department got to know about this, it took the bird away, citing that Sarus happens to be the National Bird of the state and can't be kept at home. Initially, the bird was kept at Panchi Vihar but later was shifted to Kanpur Zoological Park.
BJP leader Varun Gandhi also reacted to the video of Arif meeting the bird, saying that the bird should be allowed to return to his friend.
"The story of Sarus and Arif is special! The happiness of these two friends on seeing each other is telling how pure their love is. This beautiful creature is made to fly in the free sky, not to live in a cage. Give him back his sky, his freedom and his friend," Varun Gandhi said in the tweet.
Earlier, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav had also attacked the UP government, stating that the forest department action shows that BJP finds happiness by giving sorrow to others.
"The BJP people do not love the environment of love, whether it is love between man and man or between man and bird. Those who find their happiness by giving sorrow to others can never be happy," Akhilesh Yadav had tweeted.
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