NAGPUR: Green activist Bandu Dhotre ended his fast on Wednesday evening in what came to be described as the 'victory festival' by the leaders present on the occasion. The atmosphere at the site was indeed festive with environmentalists exchanging smiles and shouts of victory reverberating in the air. The soothing sound of a flute rendering the music of 'Sare jahan se accha' and the 'Jungle ka raja' song in the end proved to be the perfect mood setters for the evening. Fittingly, Dhotre took a sip of juice from a glass offered by two volunteers dressed as tigers to end his fast. District collector Saurabh Rao, eminent economist Shrinivas Khandewale, social activist Umesh Choubey, former MP Banwarilal Purohit and PCCF (wildlife) SWH Naqvi were present during the small ceremony held to mark the end of the fast. While addressing the gathering, Dhotre said that this was not an end, but the beginning of a new journey towards conservation. "I am thankful for the kind of support I received and which has led this agitation to its success," said Dhotre. In breaking his fast, Dhotre was joined by Jitendra Walke who had been fasting in Chandrapur and who had come down to Nagpur earlier on Wednesday. "Apart from the fact that the government has agreed to all our demands, what stands out as an achievement in the wake of this agitation is that all the ministers from Vidarbha stood together and put forth these demands to the cabinet," said Swanand Soni of Srushti Paryavaran Sanstha. Purohit hailed Dhotre for daring to put his life at stake for tiger conservation while Khandewale called this the beginning of a new age. "This victory marks the start of the formation of an eco-friendly society. This is a joint victory of the NGOs and the government and conservation is going to be benefited by it," Khandewale said.