Another tiger killed by poachers in MP forest

Last Updated: Monday, February 25, 2013, 22:42

http://zeenews.india.com/news/madhya-pradesh/another-tiger-killed-by-poachers-in-mp-forest_831540.html

Katni (Madhya Pradesh): A tiger was electrocuted after poachers allegedly laid live wires in Barhi forest area in Katni district close to Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve last night, a forest official said on Monday.

This is the third incident in the last six months in Katni district in which a tiger whas been found electrocuted.

The carcass was found at a farm in Kua village under Barhi forest area located close to the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, Barhi Forest Ranger Kapil Sharma told reporters.

“Live electricity wires were also recovered from near the carcass,” he said adding that it appears that the animal was electrocuted by the poachers.

A case has been registered against three persons in this regard, but the ranger refused to share details about them.

PTI

Electric cables run too low in tiger reserves

By Manjari Mishra, TNN | Jan 12, 2013, 01.17 AM IST

READ MORE Madhya Pradesh|graveyard|Tiger reserves|electric cables

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhopal/Electric-cables-run-too-low-in-tiger-reserves/articleshow/17988794.cms

 

JABALPUR: The Madhya Pradesh forest department has still not learnt its lesson, even after losing 3 tigers to electrocution/ poaching in the last 7 months. Electric wires hanging barely 5 feet above the ground situated half a kilometer away from Vijayraghavgarh territorial area where an adult tiger was electrocuted on the intervening night of December 25-26, point to a criminal negligence which could turn Katni into a tiger graveyard, unless urgent remedial measures are initiated.

Conservationist Ajay Dubey who sent this photograph to the forest minister on January 9, is skeptical about any such possibility. “The state government’s election year commitment to give 24×7 power to all has sent the MPEB officials in overdrive. A reckless exercise is on to put up poles indiscriminately without seeking official clearance from the forest department and Katni furnishes a prime example, he said.

“The district touches the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve and the very fact that two tigers died here within last two months establishes the frequency of their movement in the belt. At least 75% of electric poles installed there, Dubey claimed are unauthorized, illegal and ill-maintained but government is turning a blind eye to this anomaly for obvious reasons. A special package of Rs 1200 sent to the centre by the MP government in 2009 to insulate electrical line in the territorial /forest area has been gathering dust, so there seems to be no hope” Dubey feels.

The live wire trap set up by poachers in December was connected to a unauthorized pole, Dubey claimed. The dead tiger he said as per the local information was being spotted in company of a tigress and her litter fortunately the others survived. He had apprised the authority of the fact and has written to the minister to order a probe and fix the responsibility on the issue.

Significantly, the departmental inquiry instituted by the state forest department after a tigress died along with it’s cub two months ago proves Dubey could be right. The tigress had jumped over and contacted a high tension wire hanging low and was instantly electrocuted along with the prey. The report categorically mentions that” lineman P C Burman had noticed the damaged transmission pole informed his superiors and asked for immediate replacement.” His attempts proved futile as instead of replacing the broken pole which was reduced to the height of 8-10 feet as against mandatory 27ft they left it untouched leading to the gory accident.

Similarly the death by electrocution of a 3-year-old male tiger in last June in village Kathotia in Sehore points to the same trend.

Quizzed over the issue, chief wild life warden P K Shukla said that he has specifically issued directives ensure that no high or low tension wires are found hanging loose in the territoral area. We are aware of the danger they pose, he told TOI on Friday.

 

Electrocution of tiger: Three officers suspended

READ MORE Manmohan Singh|Kanti district|Electrocution of tiger|electrocution

 TNN | Dec 28, 2012, 05.47 PM IST

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BHOPAL: The state forest department on Thursday suspended three officers including a deputy danger accusing them of dereliction of duty, holding them prima facie responsible for the electrocution of a tiger in Kanti district on Wednesday.

Action was taken against deputy ranger LB Pratap Singh, Vijayaraghogarh range, forest beat guards B B Dubey and Ramesh Kachi.

“They should have patrolled the area without fail. The incident could have been averted had the beat guards patrolled the areas and alerted the farmers against using such initiates to prevent their crops, said M K Khan, a divisional forest officer (DFO) Katni.

Fully grown tiger was electrocuted at the Vijayaraghogarh range, after it came in contact with an electric trap apparently laid by a farmer in a bid to protect his standing crops from the attack of wild animals such as wild boars.

Two separate teams have been constituted to inspect the farm land and check the presence of such wires. The teams would patrol the area round the clock, said the officer.

Meanwhile, the farmer who laid the trap has been identified as Kohli, a resident of Jhigia village, 20 km from Katni. A hunt is on to arrest the accused.

Chief wildlife warden DPK Shukla said that they have decided to depute more beat guards in the area and other important sanctuaries.

A team from Panna Tiger Reserve (PTR) has also been dispatched to Katni to investigate the matter.

The forest officials is also looking for strong actions against officers of the electricity department owing their negligence in connection with the previous killing of a tiger in Katni.

Ajay Dubey of NGO Prayatna has shot off a letter to minister for forest Sartaj Singh drawing his attention to the threat to the lives of tigers in the state in view of the state government’s failure to ensure their safety.

He pointed out that the state government has failed to set up special tiger protection force (SPTF) to protect tiger from poachers, despite a full financial support for it. Also the state government had been lingering on the formalities for CBI inquiry into disappearance of tigers from Panna Tiger Reserve (PTR) despite its announcement in March 2010. Dubey also questioned appointment of Dr P K Shukla to the post of chief wildlife warden, alleging that he has no special qualification of wild life management.

Earlier on Wednesday, he had dispatched a letter to the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh urging him to take appropriate steps to protect the tigers in the state.

 

Probe tigress death, urges RTI activist

READ MORE Madhya Pradesh|Special Investigation Team|RTI activist|Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve

TNN | Nov 26, 2012, 03.05 AM IST

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BHOPAL: Wildlife and RTI activist Ajay Dube has urged the centre to send a special investigation team (SIT) to Madhya Pradesh to investigate the death of a tigress in the forests of Katni, neighbouring Bandhavgarh tiger reserve.

In a letter addressed to the minister for environment and forest, Dube has claimed that the norms have been violated while disposing off the remains of the tigress. He said that a post mortem was not performed and the forest department has claimed that “it to be a natural death“.

“Without performing an autopsy how can they claim that it was a natural death, Dube wondered.

On Nov 18, the official in-charge of the forest circle where the incident took place had stated that an FIR would be filed against the electricity department as the tigress was “allegedly electrocuted” and the electricity department was responsible for the management of power lines responsible for the incident.

However, the forest department in its primary offence report (POR) no 307/ 21, did not mention any one and the report has been registered against “anonymous”. In the POR, the department has mentioned the cause of the death as “natural”, he added.

 

Tigress electrocuted in Bandhavgarh buffer zone

By P Naveen, TNN | Nov 19, 2012, 01.05 AM IST

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/Tigress-electrocuted-in-Bandhavgarh-buffer-zone/articleshow/17272364.cms

READ MORE Madhya Pradesh|Tigress|P K Shukla|Electrocuted|Bandhavgarh buffer zone

BHOPAL: Adding to the woes of the Madhya Pradesh government trying to revive the big cat population, a tigress was found electrocuted at Badwara range of Katni forest division which falls in the Bandhavgarh National Park‘s buffer zone on Sunday. This is the third big cat killed in an accident in the state in the past few months.

Forest officials in Katni said that the tigress came in contact with an 11-KV high tension line, tethered to the ground, while attacking a cow. Forest department officials suspect that it was a wire trap to kill the animal.

A tigress was electrocuted in Kathotia forest range some 50 km from here after coming in contact with live wires set up as a trap allegedly by poachers few months back while a one-year-old tiger cub was killed after it was stuck in a pit and paralyzed in the same forest range.

The charred carcass of the tigress and the cow were found tangled along with the broken transmission line by a forest guard, said sources, and were swollen and infected with maggots suggesting much time had elapsed since their death. The regional power distribution company confirmed that power tripped on Friday at 3 pm in the forest area, suggesting that the incident might have taken place 48 hours ago.

“It seems an accidental death. More details would be known only after the autopsy,” said P K Shukla, principal chief conservator of forest. He ruled out poaching.

The spot was two km from the Khitoli range of Bandhavgarh National Park and Bagdari village – a forest village comprising 50 tribal families.

Recently, 830 sq km of this territorial forest area falling in Katni division was notified as a buffer zone of Bandhavgarh National Park, where 59 tigers were reported in the last census.

The forest department blames the Madhya Pradesh State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd for not maintaining the high tension transmission lines passing through its forest areas. “We’ll ask the discom to speed up work to lay underground cable,” said Shukla.

“Five years ago, a sloth bear was similarly electrocuted in the same area. Shifting the lines underground will avert such incidents,” said C M Khare, of Wildlife Protection Society of India. Divisional forest officer M K Khan, among the first to reach the spot, maintained that the death was an accident. “No body parts of the tigress was found missing. Engineers of the electricity department who reached the spot conformed that one of the line was broken,” he said.