Goemkarponn Desk
PANAJI: While stating that Goa government is not doing enough to protect the State’s interest in Mhadei issue, activists under the banner of ‘Save Mhadei Save Goa’ on reiterated their demand to notify the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary as a tiger reserve.
The activists have demanded to announce Mhadei has a Tiger reserve before July 29 failure to which they would agitate on a massive scale.
“We reiterate our demand to notify the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary as a tiger reserve. The Western Ghats of Goa have a long history and icons depicting tiger worship, besides places named after the tiger and the presence of the big cats in recent years indicate that these protected forests and the ones connecting Karnataka and Maharashtra are one of the best potential tiger habitats in the Western Ghats and therefore need protection,” Rajan Ghate
On August 9, 2011, there was public announcement that in principle approval was accorded by National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) for creation of a new tiger reserve at the Mhadei Sanctuary. Under Section 38 V of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1971, the Goa government was then authorised to notify Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary as a Tiger Reserve. But they failed to do so till date,” Ghate added.
Meanwhile, Goa forest minister Vishwajit Rane had recently rejected demands for notifying a tiger reserve in the state, insisting that the state does not have resident tigers and he won’t allow any move to upgrade Goa’s Mhadei wildlife sanctuary to a full-fledged tiger reserve.
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