Expressing concern over increasing deaths of tigers, Dr Parinay Fuke, Minister of State for Forest, wanted that the authorities should shift tigresses in protected areas where male-female proportion is less in order to increase number of tigers.

 

The minister was addressing a meeting of forest officers held at Mantralaya on Thursday. He specifically asked the officers to make efforts for increasing population of tigers in Navegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve, where the number of tigresses is veryless.

 

The officers informed that the villagers residing at the fringe of jungle complained about terror by tigers and a sense of insecurity and hence the Forest Department such tigers and shifted them elsewhere. They pointed out that the department shifted five tigresses in Melghat Tiger Reserve.

 

The officials also mentioned that as many as 56 tigers died naturally in 2013-14. Generally, deaths of tigers occur due to old age of 14 years. Some tigers died after getting entangled in wire snares laid down by poachers for capturing spotted deer, sambars and wild boars at different places in jungle. Dr Fuke asked them to take necessary measures to check deaths of tigers and instructed the authorities to fill the vacant posts of forest guards at earliest possible to strengthen protection.

 

Dr Fuke ordered the officials from Forest Department and Tribal Welfare Department to provide training to tribal youths at a reasonable fee on the lines of Dr Shyamaprasad Mukherjee Jan Van Yojna for earning them livelihood. The minister wanted that the officials should begin such programme for tribals in and around Navegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve in Gondia district.

 

The minister said that the officers should involved prominent persons from a particular village like Police Patil, Home Guard instead of representatives of Non-Government Organisations for conducting ‘panchnamaa’ after deaths of wild animals. This will help in increasing co-ordination process between forest officials and villagers. Dr Fuke also instructed officials to select two three prominent villagers for Adivasi Mitra, Van Mitra on honorarium and appoint a Motivator on district-level.

 

The minister took a decision that he would hold meeting of the forest officers and employees during a district level tour so as to understand their problems and take necessary steps to solve them.

 

Vikas Kharage, Principal Secretary, Forest, Nitin Kakodkar, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife), Vijay Dodal, Joint Secretary, Virendra Tiwari from Mantralaya, Sunil Limaye, B S Hooda, both Additional Principal Chief Conservators of Forest (Wildlife), West and East Regional respectively, and concerned officers were present in the meeting.