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Sariska may get tigers from other sanctuaries

     Jaipur: Forest Minister of Rajasthan Laxmi Narain Dave has said that the restoration of the Sariska Tiger Reserve can be done by bringing tigers from other sanctuaries. After a furore over vanishing of tigers from Sariska, the sanctuary authorities in Rajasthan today said that steps would be taken to reintroduce the big cats to the sanctuary. The government suspended eight forest officials on Saturday, after more than two-dozen tigers vanished from Sariska wildlife sanctuary, in less than 2 years. Concerned over the fast dwindling tiger population, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last month ordered a CBI inquiry and formed a new taskforce to stem the rapid fall in the number of the endangered species. "The state government will take all possible steps to maintain the glory of Sariska and also to maintain the tourist inflow. The chief minister is herself worried about the whole issue and is closely monitoring the progress. The CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) and our department are also probing. If there is a need to bring tigers from outside, the state government and the chief minister will ensure all possible help," said Laxmi Narayan Dave, forest and environment minister.

      Wildlife activists say tigers may have been wiped out entirely in the Sariska sanctuary -- where the Project Tiger conservation programme began in 1973 and where there were as many as 16-18 big cats a year ago. They fear the story may be the same in sanctuaries across India, which has almost half the world's surviving tigers. Authorities say that though 25-28 tigers were spotted during a census in Sariska in 2003 but since then no tigers have been spotted in the sanctuary. V.S. Saxena, environmentalist and former government official, said that tigers could be back in Sariska if the authorities are able to provide the necessary atmosphere for their rehabilitation. "The situation is not that bad. Tigers can be reintroduced. We know that the tiger is the king of jungle and the three basic characteristics are, one it is a peaceful animal, it likes to live in solitary. And thirdly, it is averse to excessive heat. If all these things are taken care of, then I do not think there is any reason that tigers will not come back," he said. Killing of tigers, although banned in India, has been going on under cover as a single one can fetch up to 23 lakhs in the international market. A century ago, there were an estimated 40,000 tigers in India. Now, some wildlife experts say there are barely 2,000 and the official government census about 3,700. Exact figures are almost impossible because of the shy nature of the big cats.

AB Bardhan re-elected CPI Gen Secy (Go To Top)

     Chandigarh: Veteran communist leader AB Bardhan was today re-elected as the Communist Party of India's General Secretary for the third consecutive term. He has been elected for a period of three years. The party also elected its National Council, which in turn elected the National Executive and the members of the National Secretariat. Party Secretary D Raja read out the names of the party office bearers while addressing the members at a concluding ceremony of the CPI's 19th Congress. The members of the Secretariat include besides Bardhan, PK Vasudevan Nair, Gaya Singh, Gurudas Dasgupta, Nandagopal Bhattacharya, Shameem Faizee, S Sudhakar Reddy, D Raja and Amarjeet Kar. While KC Bansal has been re-elected as the party's treasurer, VG Soma Sundaram has been elected as the assistant treasurer.

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