Madhya Pradesh: 2500 Sq Km Forest Area To Be Declared As Protected

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, Wildlife, Shubhranjan Sen said that for effective wildlife conservation, separate budget will be allocated for core and buffer areas from next fiscal. In the coming years, 2500 square kilometre forest area is proposed to be declared as protected. He was addressing the inaugural session of national level workshop held at Pench Tiger Reserve on Friday.

The workshop was held as per directives given by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav in the last state wildlife board meeting. In last wildlife board meeting, it was said that with the rise in number of tigers, leopards, many problems will rise.

Therefore, a solution shall be searched by roping in national level experts. Head of Forest Force, Asim Shrivastava said that man-animal conflict has increased in state with rise in number of tigers and leopards.

To combat with this challenge, public awareness is must. Dr Rajesh Gopal joined the meeting in virtual manner and said that priority shall be given to micro and deep study in management in conserved area. Dr Raman Sukumar spoke about problems posed by elephants to humans.

Panna officials busy catching feline

As the date to send a pair of tigers to Madhav National Park nears, officials of Panna Tiger Reserve and Pench Tiger Reserve are busy in catching felines. So far, success has eluded them. Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, Wildlife, L Krishna Murthy said that it will be from Panna Tiger Reserve and Pench Tiger Reserve from where a tiger pair will be translocated to Madhav National Park. It will be on March 10 that the pair of tiger will be translocated.

Next meeting to be held soon

The next meeting of the state wildlife board is going to take place in the near future. The date of it is likely to be finalised soon. In this meeting, some important decisions particularly regarding some new sanctuaries could be taken. The preparedness of Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary in connection with cheetah project is likely to be reviewed. Apart from this, many other important decisions regarding wildlife conservation are on the anvil.