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Our ignorant war on animals
The tiger population may have gone up in Karnataka and elsewhere as a result of conservation efforts, but fortunately, the authorities have not become smug and are continuing to do more to save the big cat.
The Southern Regional Cell of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) will soon set up base in Bengaluru to work closely with all southern states with tiger populations and coordinate their efforts to protect the animal under constant threat from poachers.
The NTCA which is headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will now have three centres around the country, at Gawhathi, Nagpur and Bengaluru.
The Nagpur unit which is expected to oversee tiger protection efforts in Central India was inaugurated recently and the Bengaluru unit is also likely to be operational soon. It will be headed by an officer of the rank of Chief Conservator of Forests.”Once the centre is operational all wildlife wings in southern states which have tigers will work in coordination with it,” says an NCTA officer.
NTCA member secretary Dr Rajesh Gopal explains that such coordination is important to deal with poaching and tribal relocation from critical wildlife habitats and tiger reserves.
Tiger biologist Dr K Ullas Karanth welcomes the fact that the regional centre will involve qualified tiger experts and non-governmental groups working for tiger conservation. “Presently the tiger habitat management is more government centered,”he points out.
Praveen Bhargav, trustee, Wildlife First Organisation, hopes the authorities concerned will now reconsider the current guidelines issued for critical wildlife habitats, which in his view , encourage diversion of forest land for non- forestry activities even while talking of saving the tiger and other endangered wildlife.
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/cities/bengaluru/bengaluru-be-south-hub-tiger-protection-210
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