Tiger kills man, this time in Bhadrawati forest- TNN

CHANDRAPUR: A tiger claimed yet another life in Bhadrawati forest range taking the tally of human kills in the district to three this year. The incident took place in Gudgaon beat near Sawri village close to the Irai dam on Wednesday afternoon, but the body was discovered later in the same night. The second human kill by tiger in span of just one month in the jungles close the Irai dam in Bhadrawati tehsil has alarmed villages in the area.

Sources informed that deceased shepherd Natthu Kedar (60) from Sawri had taken his herd into the jungle for grazing in the morning. At around 5pm the herd came back to the village without its shepherd. As he did not return till dusk, the villagers went out in his search.

"The body was discovered in the farm of Baburao Kirtane close to the jungle of compartment No. 935 in Gudgaon beat near Irai dam by the villager. The body had several scratch marks on its back and was lying close the shrubs near the boundary of the farm. After getting information both forest and police personnel rushed to the spot," said RFO, Bhadrawati range, Arun Tikhe.

He informed that ACF TK Dhabekar and he reached the spot with his subordinates and sent the body for post-mortem after necessary inquest formalities.

Tikhe confirmed that it was the act of tiger. "We have recovered the pugmarks on the spot where the kill was made. Moreover, there is known presence of tiger in the area. Tiger might have killed the shepherd in the afternoon while he was grazing the animals, but body was discovered later in the evening," he said.

Replying to a query he denied the possibility of the beast being the same tiger which had killed an unidentified person on February 26 night in compartment No. 206 in same Bhadrawati range. He informed that there are quite a few tigers in Bhadrawati forest range and the two human kills have been made by different tigers.

"We have identified the tiger that killed Kedar on Wednesday and it is different from the one that had made human kill earlier," Tikhe stressed. He said that forest officers have given the ex-gratia aid of Rs 5000 to the kin of Kedar and compensation of Rs 2 lakh against the death would be paid after the necessary documental formalities are completed. Notably this is third instance when tigers had made human kill in the district this year. As many as 12 people were killed in tiger attacks in district last year.


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Tiger-kills-man-this-time-in-Bhadrawati-forest/articleshow/7783530.cms

PAC flays Environment Ministry''s "silence" on tiger protection -PTI

New Delhi, Mar 24 (PTI) Environment Ministry's claim on protection of tigers notwithstanding, a parliamentary committee has taken a dim view of its "silence" on the matter.In its report, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Chaired by senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi, "deplored the failure" on the part of the Ministry in "not outlining the follow-up action" taken by the states to fill up the field staff in spite of the matter being addressed at the level of the Prime Minister and the Environment Minister. "Worse, the Committee notes with distress that reply is conspicuously silent about the tiger conservation plan prepared by the individual states," said the report on conservation and protection of tigers in tiger reserves tabled in the Lok Sabha. The 22-member committee is of the considered view that mere issuance of guidelines would not help protect the tigers from poachers unless strict monitoring is done of the performance of staff detailed for saving the tigers. "The committee notes with regret that the Ministry has remained silent with regard to pattern of training, duration of training, arms and ammunition used during the training and experts engaged for imparting training to the patrolling staff in the tiger reserves," the report said. The committee recommended that staff be adequately trained and well equipped for ensuring effective patrolling so as to conserve the tigers apart from controlling illegal wildlife trade.

http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/pac-flays-environment-ministrys-silence-on-tiger-protection/622224.html