The online petition seeking to expedite the process of setting up the tiger reserve at Mhadei wildlife sanctuary, located 70 km from here, was launched by activist Tallulah D'Silva Monday.
"We the undersigned, residents of Goa, nature lovers and wildlife enthusiasts, admirers especially of the tiger, are writing to you as we are aware that Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has requested the Goa government to send the proposal for a tiger reserve at Mhadei region," reads the petition, which will be submitted to Chief Minister Digambar Kamat.
"We write this to highlight the need to protect and conserve an intrinsic part of our Western Ghats, its forests and biodiversity. There is a dire need to protect and conserve our tiger habitats," it says.
The online petition comes against the backdrop of a sluggish response from the forest department as well as the state forest minister, after Jairam Ramesh last month wrote to Kamat asking the state government to submit a proposal to upgrade the Mhadei wildlife sanctuary to a tiger reserve.
While Goa's chief wildlife warden Shashi Kumar has said that there "are a lot of local factors yet to be taken into account, before setting up of a tiger reserve", according to state Forest Minister Filipe Neri Rodrigues, the Mhadei tiger reserve would take some time coming. Read the full report here.
Source: Mangalorean.com, Panaji.
