Rajasthan: Tigress linked to 2 human kills returns to enclosure in MHTR after ‘brief escape’
Kota (Rajasthan) (PTI): The sighting of MT-8 or ‘Kankati’, a tigress linked to two fatal attacks on humans in neighbouring Ranthambore that escaped from its designated 82-sq km enclosure in the Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve here, triggered brief panic and halted traffic in the area.
However, the radio-collared tigress, which escaped on Tuesday morning, returned to its place in the forest later in the day, Muthu S, Deputy Conservator of Forest (DCF), Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve (MHTR), told PTI. Kankati gained notoriety for two human kills in the Ranthambore forest range earlier this year, after which she was relocated to the MHTR on June 19.
After spending around two months in a 21-hectare enclosure, Kankati was reintroduced into the wild on August 15 when she was released into the 82-sq km enclosure in the Dara forest area of MHTR.
At around 11 am on Tuesday, the tigress escaped from its designated enclosure and crossed the road, creating panic and halting traffic on both sides briefly.
Sensing the presence of the big cat, a few cattle hurriedly escaped from the spot, while some passersby, including a few cops, were seen filming the animal crossing the road with their mobile phones.
Muthu said the tigress crossed the Batwada road, which is a part of MHTR, before returning to her enclosure in the Dara forest range later in the day.
The tigress is radio-collared and tracked by three forest teams round the clock, the DCF said, adding that since the animal was under watch, the areas around the road were already cordoned off.
Forest teams remain particularly alert in the area after a tigress was run over by a train when it wandered from the Ranthambore forest range 20 years ago, the DCF said.
Wildlife enthusiast Brijesh Vijayvergiya, however, termed the movement of the tigress a result of “careless” monitoring and “inadequate” safety measures in the MHTR for which he held the forest department responsible.
“Taking a lesson from the accidental death of a tigress 20 years ago, the forest department should have erected fencing to prevent wild animals from crossing the road or the railway track. In the absence of fencing, the tigress Kankati ventured out and crossed the road, thus risking her life,” Vijayvergiya told PTI.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
'Shocking affairs': SC slams MP govt over illegal sand miners digging up Chambal bridge pillars
_vb_25.jpeg)
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Monday termed the killing of a forest guard in Madhya Pradesh and the digging of the foundation of pillars of Chambal bridge connecting the state to Rajasthan by illegal sand miners as "shocking affairs" and "failure" of the state government.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, which pulled up the Madhya Pradesh government, said either the state government has failed to curb the illegal mining on the Chambal river or it is being done in connivance with state authorities.
"They are digging up the bridge and if the bridge falls, who will be responsible? The photographs are self-explanatory.
"Forest officials are run over by sand mafias and the foundation of a bridge is dug. This is an absolutely shocking state of affairs. Either the state government has failed to control the illegal sand mining or it is in connivance," the bench observed.
"It is happening under your nose. The amicus pointed out that you do not have weapons. Why, at all, does the state government exist?
"These excavators and bulldozers are very secular, they do not see the caste of the person they are killing... it is an absolutely sad state of affairs, the state governments have totally failed or rather they are in connivance. It's absolutely shocking that the foundations of a bridge can be dug up and the state has its eyes closed," the bench told Additional Solicitor General S V Raju appearing for the Madhya Pradesh government.
The top court was hearing a suo motu case titled 'In Re: Illegal sand mining in the National Chambal Sanctuary and threat to endangered aquatic wildlife'.
Senior advocate Nikhil Goel, who is assisting the court as an amicus curiae in the matter, pointed out that it is an important bridge having 32 pillars and it connects Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan but sand mafias are digging the foundation of these pillars.
He said that Odisha, Assam and Maharashtra have come out with a notification empowering forest officials to open fire at sand mafias and similarly Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh have written to the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) seeking nod for powers to open fire at these illegal sand miners.
Observing that earlier an IPS officer was also killed by illegal sand mafias, Justice Mehta asked the state authorities to explore the possibility of installing high-resolution CCTV cameras to monitor illegal mining.
The bench further suggested that a GPS system can be installed in heavy earth-moving machines in the area to keep a track of their movement.
The bench asked for a status report of the investigation done so far on the killing of a forest guard who was run over by a tractor-trolley allegedly run by sand miners and feasibility report of CCTV cameras.
On April 9, the top court agreed to hear a week later an application seeking an independent investigation into the killing of a forest guard in Madhya Pradesh after being run over by a tractor-trolley allegedly run by sand miners.
The National Chambal Sanctuary, also called the National Chambal Gharial Wildlife Sanctuary, is a 5,400-sq km tri-state protected area. Besides the endangered gharial (long-snouted crocodile), it is home to the red-crowned roof turtle and the endangered Ganges river Dolphin.
Located on the Chambal river near the tripoint of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, the sanctuary was first declared a protected area in Madhya Pradesh in 1978 and now constitutes a long and narrow eco-reserve co-administered by the three states.
A 35-year-old forest guard was killed after a tractor-trolley allegedly run by illegal sand miners ran over him in Madhya Pradesh's Morena district on Wednesday morning, police had said.
The incident took place on National Highway-552 near Ranpur village, about 20 km from the district headquarters, when forest personnel tried to stop a sand-laden tractor-trolley, the police had said.
It had said that forest guard Harkesh Gurjar, a part of the patrol team, attempted to stop the vehicle but its driver ran him over, killing him on the spot.
While hearing the suo motu matter on April 2, the apex court slammed the Rajasthan government for "facilitating" illegal sand mining, and stayed its notification de-notifying 732 hectares of the National Chambal Sanctuary, saying it will not allow de-notification of any reserve land for protected species.
Terming "mining mafia" as "dacoits", the apex court had said a number of government officials, including sub-divisional magistrates and policemen, were killed in Rajasthan by the mining mafia.
While hearing the matter on March 20, the apex court had taken serious note of the destruction of habitats of aquatic animals due to rampant illegal sand mining in the National Chambal Sanctuary.
On March 13, the top court took suo motu cognisance based on certain news reports pertaining to rampant illegal mining from the sand banks of the Chambal river.
_vb_26.jpeg)
_vb_65.jpeg)