New Delhi: Tiger, the national animal of the country, is being poached regularly in almost all reserves and authorities are sitting idle, eating up the the funds meant for the animal's welfare, said a Madhya Pradesh-based tiger conservationist.
Addressing a news conference here this afternoon, Ms Shehla Masood said the tigers are being killed by the poachers and nobody is stopping them.
''Even those who have been getting paid to conserve and protect the national animal are helping tourists and well-politically connected people to kill the tigers in buffer zones,'' she alleged.
Talking about Panna reserve, she said lots of tourist facilities are coming up near the tiger reserve centres and the ''well-connected'' people have access to the restricted areas.
Displaying the photographs of a tigress, which was killed recently in Madhya Pradesh reserve, she said it was proved beyond doubt that the animal was killed at the hour when nobody is allowed in the park.
''Some minister's son was named in the killing, few officers of the park have also been suspended but nothing concrete has been done till date,'' she said showing pictures of some private vehicles in the restricted areas of the reserve jungle.
''We had asked for forensic report on those confiscated vehicles but they were let off under pressure as it would have helped reach the culprits. This was done to destroy the evidence,'' Ms Masood said.
''The tigress was killed by repeated hits by a private jeep and the killers were supported by the park authority,'' the conservationist said.
''I'm not alleging, its been proved by the photographs taken by the tiger lovers,'' Ms Masood said adding that the way postmortem was done with an axe and a knife in the open, shows how funds were being misused by the officers.
Nineteen per cent tiger population of the country is in Madhya Pradesh and people responsible for good health of the national animal are helping poachers kill them.
''Police don't even file cases of missing tigers...there is no coordination between them and the officials at various parks...and that's proving dangerous for tigers,'' she said.
No proper report was sent from Panna reserve for the past many years, they sent fake reports giving wrong information about the number of tigers there and later it was proved that no tiger was left the park since 2005..but they were still getting the money for conservation, she said.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Task force to protect Bandipur tigers
Big cats of Bandipur Tiger Reserve can now prowl about in peace. The Karnataka government has decided to speed up its 2008 plans to set up a unique task force to protect tigers of the reserve.
But before that, they got an earful from New Delhi-based National Tiger Conservation (NCTA) and even Union Minister for Environment, Jairam Ramesh, for the deaths of eight tigers since 2009 in the reserve. Four of these deaths occurred since January this year.
In a letter to the State government, the NCTA threatened to cut funding for the tiger reserves in Karnataka if they did not take steps to care for the big cats. The State has been directed to review the monitoring and security of the tiger reserves. Such a letter was also sent to other states that had tiger reserves. Top forest officials, however, denied getting any such letter.
Nevertheless, the State government is moving fast to set up the Special Tiger Protection Force (STPF) by 2011 and plans to set aside Rs 4 crore for it. To be formed as per NCTA guidelines, it will be the first of its kind in South India.
The STPF will be entrusted with keeping a watch on tigers within the State as well as monitor the porous borders of Karnataka adjoining Kerala, where poaching has been reported of late.
The squad will be headed by an assistant conservator of forests and will comprise three range forest officers, 18 foresters and 90 guards, who will be divided into three groups. Each group will be provided a vehicle, arms and other equipment by the NTCA. Even the salary and other perks of the task force will be per the NTCA.
The recruitment process for the STPF would begin from June 13, B K Singh, Principal Chief Conservator and Chief Wildlife Warden, told Deccan Herald. “Those selected after examinations will undergo six months’ rigorous training at Yelahanka Police Training centre,” he said. It will also have a member from NCTA.
But before that, they got an earful from New Delhi-based National Tiger Conservation (NCTA) and even Union Minister for Environment, Jairam Ramesh, for the deaths of eight tigers since 2009 in the reserve. Four of these deaths occurred since January this year.
In a letter to the State government, the NCTA threatened to cut funding for the tiger reserves in Karnataka if they did not take steps to care for the big cats. The State has been directed to review the monitoring and security of the tiger reserves. Such a letter was also sent to other states that had tiger reserves. Top forest officials, however, denied getting any such letter.
Nevertheless, the State government is moving fast to set up the Special Tiger Protection Force (STPF) by 2011 and plans to set aside Rs 4 crore for it. To be formed as per NCTA guidelines, it will be the first of its kind in South India.
The STPF will be entrusted with keeping a watch on tigers within the State as well as monitor the porous borders of Karnataka adjoining Kerala, where poaching has been reported of late.
The squad will be headed by an assistant conservator of forests and will comprise three range forest officers, 18 foresters and 90 guards, who will be divided into three groups. Each group will be provided a vehicle, arms and other equipment by the NTCA. Even the salary and other perks of the task force will be per the NTCA.
The recruitment process for the STPF would begin from June 13, B K Singh, Principal Chief Conservator and Chief Wildlife Warden, told Deccan Herald. “Those selected after examinations will undergo six months’ rigorous training at Yelahanka Police Training centre,” he said. It will also have a member from NCTA.
Tigress' death shakes Madhya Pradesh into action
Bhopal, June 2 (IANS) A tigress' death due to a vehicle hit in Madhya Pradesh's Bandhavgarh tiger reserve has galvanised authorities into action. Two tourist routes inside the park have been shut down and similar moves are being planned in other tiger reserves in the state.
However, locals associated with tourism activities are alarmed and say the initiative will hit their livelihood.
The eight-year-old tigress was discovered lying in an injured condition May 19 and died a few hours later. The autopsy report said it died of haemorrhage due to internal injuries caused by a vehicle hit. Its cubs, aged around five months, are being looked after by the forest department.
The authorities have shut two of the four tourist routes inside Bandhavgarh reserve, located in Umaria district.
Other restrictions being planned to prevent such incidents include curbing the movement of vehicles inside the park, reducing the number of resorts and cutting down the number of tourist guides, according to an official.
'The Bandhavgarh National Park management has already closed down two of the four tourist routes in the park. The heat is on camps, resorts and hotels located in tiger reserves across the state as the forest department is planning to impose restrictions on their activities,' the official told IANS.
Besides Bandhavgarh, such restrictions may also be extended to other prominent tiger reserves in the state - the Pench, Kanha, Panna and Satpura national parks - the official added.
But this could hit at the root of their livelihood, say locals around Bandhavgarh who held a meeting Monday to discuss the situation.
Under the aegis of Jansabha, comprising tourist guides, drivers and resort owners, the locals have also demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the death of the tigress.
'It was a forest department vehicle that hit the big cat and it is very unfair to hit our livelihoods for something which is not our fault,' a report compiled by the Jansabha said.
'Though the officials have quizzed us and even conducted forensic tests on our vehicles, the same interest has not been shown in the case of vehicles of the forest department,' the report added.
The probe conducted by Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) Dharmendra Shukla and the park director C.K. Patil has failed to produce any conclusive results.
Shukla, who is in charge of the probe pertaining to the tigress' death, said it is immaterial whether a tourist or a government vehicle hit the tigress.
'Unregulated vehicles in tiger reserves are a hazard. There is need for regulating their movement. Before the next tourist season commences in October, there will be a system in place that may pinch tourism, but it is necessary for the safety of the animals,' he said, adding that parks were not meant for commercial interest and have to be maintained for future generations.
The last tiger census held in January 2006 and released in 2008 put the average population of tigers in Madhya Pradesh at 300, while the total number of the big cats in the country was put at 1,411.
In the last few years, a number of poaching incidents and accidental deaths of tigers have been reported from the tiger reserves.
http://www.mynews.in/News/Tigress'_death_shakes_Madhya_Pradesh_into_action_N59274.html
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