Few tigers in PTR worry chief justice of Jharkhand

TNN | Jan 28, 2013, 10.05 AM IST DALTINGANJ: Chief justice of the Jharkhand high court PrakashTatia has expressed concern over a few big cats in the Palamu Tiger Reserve. "It appears that there is hardly any growth (in the number) of tigers here," said the chief justice, who arrived from Ranchi on Saturday. Speaking to reporters on Sunday at Betla, 27 km from here, Justice Tatia stressed the need for a tiger foundation in the state for an all-around development of the big cats. DFO (buffer) A K Mishra said the chief justice was informed about image of a tigress trapped in camera in Ramandaag area. Justice Tatia, however, had a word of praise for the elephant ride here which he took with his family in the morning. "The elephant ride of the Betla park is far impressive than that of Kaziranga. The elephant took us into deep forest here," he said asking for more animals to be added to the herd of elephants. At present, there are two elephants for the ride here. The chief justice wanted that entry of vehicular traffic inside the park be restricted and limited. He said the employees of the tiger reserve should get timely salary and their security be ensured. "Jharkhand has immense potentialities and these need to be tapped, promoted and exploited for tourism," Justice Tatia said. "Jharkhand's violence gets widespread coverage but there are a plenty of beautiful things and if tourism is encouraged here, it will benefit the poor and the commoner." Tourism can change the face of the economy of the area and earnings coming so from tourism will reach the people who will then be distracted from terrorism. He emphasized that people living outside the state be told of good things about Jharkhand. On Saturday, Justice Tatia reached Palamu Qilla amid tight security. He spent about half an hour there. "This precious heritage of the past 300 years or so be retained in its antique form as far as possible and I am most surprised to find this qilla (fort) in such a dense forest," he said on the fort. Quoting the chief justice, DFO (core) Premjit Anand said, "The chief justice was so pained to see the Palamu Qilla in terrible ruins." On justice-on-wheels, Justice Tatia said the state legal services authority would have one more facility soon. He showed keen interest when told that the facility travelled down to interior areas affected by Left wing extremism in Palamu. "The response of the people to this justice-on-wheels has been tremendous in the state," he said. About the second one, Justice Tatia said it would be fitted with more audio and visual facilities. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ranchi/Few-tigers-in-PTR-worry-chief-justice-of-Jharkhand/articleshow/18217626.cms