In a letter written to MP chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on October 1, Ajay Dubey of Prayatna has said that nexus between Panna reserve officials and poachers, as a cause of decimation of tigers in Panna, needs to be probed.
"Observation of wildlife week should not turn out to be a fashionable and meaningless event. Poaching is posing a grave threat to tigers. Due to poaching and other reasons, MP has lost its 'tiger state' status. Now, only 257 tigers are left in the state," Dubey warned.
Decimation of tigers in Panna is the main reason behind this. Earlier, a demand for a CBI inquiry from several forums was ignored. "It puts a question mark on the attitude of the government on the protection of tigers," Prayatna said.
"It is very painful that the government, instead of taking any action against offenders, is interested in protecting the culprits who are highly placed and influential," it alleged.
In 2007, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) had written to the government to institute a CBI inquiry on poaching in Panna, but no action was taken. Read the full report here.
Source: Times News Network, Nagpur.
