Down to Earth :: In the News

DOWN TO EARTH

No lessons have been learnt from Sariska fiasco:
It seems no lessons have been learnt from the Sariska fiasco, which has emptied this famous tiger reserve in Rajasthan of tigers. The state government has now asked Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) to construct an underpass for animals, so that they do not use the Kushalgarh-Thanagazi road, which goes from right inside the Sariska tiger reserve. This has been termed ridiculous by the ministry, as a bypass has already been constructed to avoid the inside road.

The Asian Age, New Delhi, July 10, 2006

11 tiger reserves have lost forest cover:
There has been a decrease in forest cover in 11 of the 28 tiger reserves in the country while 5 reserves have shown an increase in the same. The forest cover in the remaining 12 has remained unchanged, according to a report brought out by the Forest Survey of India and Directorate of Project Tiger.

The Hindu, New Delhi, July 10, 2006

Army task force to protect tigers in Ranthambore:You may still not see tigers in Ranthambore, but you are likely to see a lot of olive green. That’s because the government has finally realised that neither the state government nor the wildlife wardens were capable of saving the big cats and has handed guard duty over to the Ecological Task Force (ETF) of the Territorial Army. ETF’s prime task would be to check poaching in the park, which now has barely 26 tigers, down from 44 in 2003. The proposal for using the ETF of the Territorial Army was mooted by the representative of the Army chief who attended the meeting of the National Board on Wildlife on June 19 at New Delhi

The Times of India, New Delhi, July 7, 2006

Big cats lament: How green was our home:
It`s not just poachers now but a degrading ecology, which has added to the misery of tigers. The falling green cover in and around 28 tiger reserves is a new danger being faced by the tiger population. The report, `Forest Cover in Tiger Reserves in India 2006` released on Monday by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh shows a fall in green cover by 94 square kilometres within the reserves, in a fiveyear period between 1997-2002. While forest cover has increased marginally in five tiger reserves including Jim Corbett, there has been a major depletion in 11 reserves, the report says. Nameri Tiger Reserve had maximum forest destruction with fall in forest cover by 45 square kilometres. In Buxa, the green cover went down by 22 square kilometres of the total forest area of 643 square kilometres. Forest loss has also been noticed in Manas, Indravati and in Naxal affected areas of Chattisgarh and Dampa Tiger reserves.

The Hindustan Times, New Delhi, June 23, 2006

Gibbon Sanctuary mapped for tiger population
The Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary have been mapped for suitability of tiger habitat in the latest tiger census being conducted in four phases. A meeting of the forest officials will be held in this regard at the Guwahati State Zoo.

The Sentinel, Guwahati, May 1, 2006

Tiger Baba snared with ‘tiger parts’ in Kalkaji:
After allegedly trading in animal products for several years, Tiger Baba (65) was arrested from the Kalka temple premises in south Delhi. The operation was carried out by a joint team of Delhi Police and NGO People For Animals (PFA). Eleven tiger teeth, 34 tiger claws, two wild boar teeth and one stuffed tiger head were reportedly seized. Four claws with gold lining were also recovered, with Baba himself wearing two of them. According to sources, the Baba is also alleged to have reared a tiger two decades ago.

The Times of India, New Delhi, April 26, 2006

Gurgaon school gets ready to save the tiger:
As part of a programme to create environmental awareness among children, more than 200 students of The Shri Ram School at DLF, Gurgaon were shown a short film on the fast disappearing tiger population in Ranthambore —Curbing the Tiger Crisis. Made by biologist and environmentalist Dharmendra Khandal, the film was probably the closest encounter most children had had with the ground realities of wildlife in India. Khandal and Ghamandi Singh, a tiger-watcher from Sawai Madhopur, also brought along some poachers-turned-activists for children aged between 5 and 14 years.

The Indian Express, New Delhi, April 21, 006

Shanghai zoo selling tiger bone wine:
The Shanghai zoo, located in China`s economic capital, is storing the bones of dead tigers in distilled spirits and selling the resulting tonic as a health supplement, state press said. The zoo, which keeps up to a dozen tigers, has linked up with an alcohol producer to make the tiger bone elixir, which purportedly can help sufferers of arthritis and rheumatism, the Beijing News said. According to the maker of the drink, the bones come from tigers that have died from old age or from accidental causes, the paper said. An official with Shanghai`s animal safety administration has questioned the legality of the enterprise and has pledged to investigate the operation, the paper said.

Business Line, New Delhi, Feb. 12, 2006

Tribal Bill: Green ministry signals red yet again:
The issues that have plagued the Scheduled Tribes (Recognition of Forest Rights) Bill surfaced again, this time during the meeting of the Parliament committee looking into the issue. The ministry at every forum has put up its objection to the tribals land rights bill and is lobbying hard to get some key provisions changed. The environment ministry put forward its dissenting point of view on the bill, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha last December, to members of the joint parliamentary committee recently. In a presentation to the committee, environment secretary Dr Prodipto Ghosh raised objections to the exclusion of nontribals from the bill. But at the same time the ministry has been stringently objecting to the 2.5 hectare per tribal family clause saying forest land would be divided. The ministry has been fighting against these two provisions from the beginning.

The Economic Times, New Delhi, Feb. 3, 2006

Tiger conservation top on UK agenda:
The number of tigers is depleting in the country and it seems there is a concern over the missing number of big cats in India, all over the world. British minister for environment Jim Knight is visiting India next month and tiger conservation is high on his agenda. Also on the schedule of British minister is visit to Jim Corbett National Park in Uttaranchal and Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan. “Tiger conservation is high on the agenda of British minister for environment and he will be discussing the issue with his Indian counterpart during his visit here next month,” said a senior official at the British high commission in New Delhi.

The Asian Age, New Delhi, Jan. 30, 2006

Counting the tiger in the heart of Naxalite country:
Across the country, in 28 national parks, tigers are being counted right now, the first census after last year’s dismal news of the missing big cat. But nowhere else is the challenge so unique as in the largest tiger reserve in the country, the Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam, in Andhra Pradesh, home to, as per last year’s official data, 70 tigers. Key reason: this is the heart of Naxalite country. The solitary stone tiger at the entrance itself is a pointer. It had welcome arches and a watchpost, both were blasted by the People’s War Group two years ago—no one has dared to rebuild.

The Indian Express, New Delhi, Jan. 29, 2006

TN to begin census:
Tamil Nadu will begin its own first official tiger count, on Feb 15. A count done in 2001 jointly with Karnataka and Kerala states, which share contiguous forest area with Tamil Nadu, put the number of tigers in Tamil Nadu at 88. As many as 29 were in the Kalakkadu-Mundanthurai tiger reserve in Tirunelveli district, 800 km south of Chennai.

Sahara Time,New Delhi, Jan. 21, 2006

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