Tiger found would boost efforts of Tiger Reserve: Alina
GOANEWS DESK, PANAJI | 23 April 2013 20:27 IST
Locating a tiger in Mhadei sanctuary will boost the prospects to make it a Tiger Reserve, says forest and environment minister Alina Saldanha.
But her effort did not get much support in the Assembly today, though everybody congratulated chief minister Manohar Parrikar as well as range forest officer Paresh Porob for succeeding in locating a tiger.
A tiger was recently located by Porob’s team at Dongurli in Thane, located in the Mhadei wild life sanctuary.
In fact opposition leader Pratapsing Rane felt that any area cannot be declared a sanctuary just because a tiger was located.
“Tigers are visitors and they keep coming to Goa from Dandeli”, he said, pointing out at the forest in neighbouring Karnataka state.
He even went to the extent of asking: “Once Panther was found in Panaji. Does that mean we should make Panaji a sanctuary?”
He also expressed concern over wild life destroying fields of farmers and the tiger phenomena should not destroy now habitation of around 18,000 people living in the sanctuary.
Saldanha assured the House that the traditional dwellers in the sanctuary would not be put to any hardships.
BJP MLA Vishnu Wagh had moved a congratulatory motion in this regard as the tiger could be located because the chief minister had given a green signal last year to take up Find Tiger mission.
“At least now we should stop destructive activities going on in this wild life-rich sanctuary”, he said.
Supporting this, independent MLA Vijay Sardesai demanded that open cast mines should not be allowed in the sanctuary any more.
Congress MLA Aleixo Reginald Lourenco also demanded to take up the outcome of locating a tiger to a ‘logical end.’
Though all the members, including Rane, supported the cause of protecting tigers, Wagh’s BJP colleague Subhash Faldesai felt that Goa should not go for more sanctuaries.
He pointed out that 37 per cent of Goa is declared as forest cover while 17 per cent is a sanctuary area.
“There should be a limit to these things in a small state like Goa”, felt Faldesai.
Rane also felt that heritage should not clash with protection of human life.
Saldanha assured it would not.
She also announced that her department would take up more scientific research and other steps to establish Mhadei as the ‘Home for Tigers’.
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