Expressing grave concern over the declining of tiger population in Odisha, senior Congress leader Niranjan Patnaik on Wednesday alleged that the BJD Government has failed to manage environment and wildlife.
Patnaik said the big cats’ population decreased from 32 in 2010 to 28 in 2014, which showed the State Government’s lackadaisical attitude in protecting the endangered wildlife species. “When Karnataka, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh are doing well in protecting their tigers, our State is lagging behind due to its poor management of its wildlife and forests,” he said.
The Congress leader held the deteriorating environment responsible for declining of tiger population. “The tigers’ habitats are destroyed due to deforestation and mindlessly cutting of trees. Even illegal mining in the forest areas results in decreasing of the tiger population,” he said.
Patnaik also raised the issue of man-elephant conflict and the declining number of elephants in the State. He criticised the BJD leaders for hoodwinking people by dishing out false claims about the State’s development.