This blog is a humble contribution towards increasing awareness about problems being faced wrt Tiger Conservation in India. With the Tiger fast disappearing from the radar and most of us looking the other way the day is not far when the eco system that supports and nourishes us collapses. Citizen voice is an important tool that can prevent the disaster from happening and this is an attempt at channelising the voice of concerned nature lovers.
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Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Tadoba suffers due to official apathy
A report in TOI today cites 50 forest labourers going on strike from today for non payment of salaries due 4 months. For all the tall claims of central forest officials and state govt alike, funds some how either vanish before they reach the grassroot level or take inordinately long. The forest department in Maharashtra has been working at a snails pace to address issues related to wildlife protection with the forest department first clearing mining projects around the tiger sanctuary and now ensuring that money doesnt reach its protectors. In the last one year Tadoba has had to face multiple crisis with the chief forest officer threatning to shut down the park in December 2008 on account of lack of staff to manage the park. Recently, the state wildlife office transferred forest officials across the state, in some cases shunting them within a few months after they had taken charge. Tadoba was again the worst hit with old officials removed and new ones to take charge not announced thus leaving critical posts related to forest protectoin unoccupied. It seems the state forest officials are hell bent upon inflicting grave damage to the wildlife sanctuary which its own tourism department calls 'Jewel of Vidharba'. It is time the centre releases a white paper on all individual tiger sanctuaries, issues each of them is facing and what is the plan to protect those areas. The centre would do well to draw up a 10 year plan for tiger protection in teh country rather than rely on ad hoc announcements.
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