Bandu Dhotre, the 32-year-old founder and president of Eco-Pro, a wildlife protection organisation, said government measures to protect tigers are confined to reserve forest areas, while the buffer and territorial forests in the state continue to be hotbeds of poaching.
"The recent spurt in tiger poaching cases is alarming," Mr Dhotre said. "More than 100 volunteers of Eco-Pro work closely with the forest department and we feel that only the tigers in the forest reserve of Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) are getting protection.
"There are many more tigers in the unprotected buffer and territorial forests and that is where the poachers get a free hand to kill them," he added.
The core area of TATR is spread over 624 sq km, while the buffer and the territorial forests have an area of 1,100 sq km.
Mr Dhotre said Maharshtra was not doing enough to conserve the tiger population and that his fast, which he will begin at the state's forest headquarters in Nagpur, aims to make the government realise its failure in saving the animal from extinction. Read the full report here.
Source: The National, Chandrapur.
