Three years after the entire tiger population of the Panna Tiger Reserve was decimated, the Madhya Pradesh government has neither been able to fix responsibility for the disaster, nor has it handed over the enquiry to the Central Bureau of Investigation inspite of requests from the Ministry of Environment and forests and even the Prime Minister's Office.

While the Panna Tiger Reserve (PTR) has now been repopulated with translocated tigers and tigresses, the promised CBI probe into the disappearance of the entire population before 2009 is yet to be ordered even after the PMO’s intervention. Despite repeated reminders over the last five months, PTR’s field director R Sreenivasa Murthy has not sent evidence about three specific cases of poaching identified for a CBI probe to the headquarters in Bhopal.

NAGPUR: After the TOI's Waghpur campaign that culminated in state declaring Nagpur as 'Gateway to the Tiger Land' early last year, hardly anything was done by stakeholders to explore the various possibilities and avenues of development that such a status might bring. Finally, Vidarbha Economic Development (VED) Council and CENIN Travels are organising a two day Wagh Utsav to promote tiger tourism in the region. "We are organising this to bring all stakeholders together to work for the development of the region," said Vilas Kale, one of the organizers.

VALMIKI NAGAR (BIHAR): Bihar is planning to create more grasslands in its only tiger reserve to help support more prey animals for the big cats that currently number 11. At present, just five percent of the 880-sq km Valmiki Tiger Reserve is under grasslands. The park management hopes more grassland will support more prey animals that will in turn support more tigers.

Extreme biotic pressure has taken the man-animal conflict to alarming levels in the forested area stretching across Raisen, Hoshangabad and Sehore districts adjoining the state capital.

Over the last several months there have been a number of tiger sightings not only on the periphery of Bhopal but on a particular occasion recently a tiger was even sighted climbing the boundary wall of the National Judicial Academy at the southern tip of the state capital.

The Rajasthan state government’s determination to construct a canal which will slice through the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve (RTR) is going to take a heavy toll on the tiger population of this high-profile sanctuary.
The canal will severe the crucial corridor that links RTR to the Sawai Mansingh Sanctuary.

Area selected for project is near tank that quenches animals’ thirst

The State government’s initiative to restore the glory of ‘Gandhadagudi’ (abode of sandalwood) in the State through its ‘Siri Chandanavana’ project does not seem to be in order.