This story is from September 19, 2020

Kaimur wildlife sanctuary can be a tiger reserve: Rudy

Kaimur wildlife sanctuary can be a tiger reserve: Rudy
PATNA: Saran MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy has proposed in Lok Sabha that Kaimur wildlife sanctuary should either be developed as a national park or as the second tiger reserve in Bihar. Participating in the ongoing monsoon session of the Lok Sabha, Rudy said the tiger count has increased from 2,000 to 3,000 in the country, including 41 in Valmiki Tiger Reserve (VTR).
Rudy said Kaimur forests are surrounded by forest areas of three neighbouring states –Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Madhya Pradesh (MP).
“It has the potential to be developed as a tiger reserve. In 1995, one tiger was spotted in Kaimur and recently, another big cat was sighted in the wildlife sanctuary. “It would be the country’s largest tiger reserve in terms of area,” he said.
After seeing the rise in tiger count in VTR, the state government has decided to conduct a survey of Kaimur wildlife sanctuary to see whether it would be appropriate habitat for tigers or not.
Dipak Kumar Singh, principal secretary of environment, forests and climate change department, said Kaimur wildlife sanctuary has the potential of becoming a tiger reserve because it is connected with other tiger reserves of UP and MP through the corridor. “We are already working in this direction. The department is doing a survey to ascertain the status of the natural habitat for tiger,” he said.
The department has given Kaimur wildlife sanctuary survey work to Wildlife Trust of India. Singh said the survey is likely to begin from November or December this year.
“Kaimur is already notified as a sanctuary under the Wildlife Protection Act. Once tigers or pug marks of tigers are found, the National Tiger Conservation Authority will recognise it as tiger reserve. One tiger was spotted in March this year,” the principal secretary said.
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About the Author
Faryal Rumi

She is working with the Times of India as a Senior Digital Content Creator on the Patna desk.

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