First tiger force in Karnataka

Express News Service Karnataka is the first state to create a special tiger protection force (STPF) in the Bandipur tiger reserve, said Environment and Forest Minister Jayanti Natrajan on Tuesday in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha. Natrajan said that under the ongoing centrally sponsored scheme of ‘Project Tiger’, 100 per cent central assistance is provided to states for raising, arming and deploying in sensitive tiger reserves, stated a press statement from the Environment Ministry. Based on tiger abundance and vulnerability, 12 tiger reserves in the country have been identified. They are Dudhwa in Uttar Pradesh, Corbett in Uttarakhand, Ranthambhore in Rajasthan, Pench, Kanha and Bandhavgarh in Madhya Pradesh, Pakke in Arunachal Pradesh, Bandipur in Karnataka, Pench in Maharashtra, Kaziranga in Assam and Similipal in Assam. http://ibnlive.in.com/news/first-tiger-force-in-karnataka/284400-60-115.html