This Article is From Jan 24, 2010

Where is Corbett's tiger protection force?

Dehradun: India's tigers are under threat, with just about 1,400 left in the wild. And with Uttarakhand's famous Corbett National Park losing its fourth tiger in a month, January 2010 has been a disaster for tiger conservation.

Corbett was considered relatively safe. But its 150 tigers seem to have lured poachers.

Worried, the Centre sanctioned a fund of one crore to set up an armed protection force for tigers. A year and a half later, Uttarakhand is still to finalise recruitment procedures. Meanwhile, tigers continue to die.

"A professional protection force to preserve the tigers here is very important, because these are source areas," says Dr Rajesh Gopal, member secretary of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).

The continued presence of forest dwellers, who live inside the park, is also a threat. The Centre had given 10 lakh rupees for each family to be relocated. But so far, the state has shown no compliance.

"The Government of India has already released a lot of funds towards tiger protection. It is now up to the state government to demonstrate that tiger conservation is an important issue," says conservationist Belinda Wright.
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