Minister lucknow Zoological Gardens Dr Shiv Pratap Yadav will visit the tigress area next week and also take a review meeting of the forest officials on their task of pursuing the stray tigress of Moradabad. The Minister while talking to "The Pioneer" on Thursday said that he will be taking the Tharu tribals from his district Balrampur to the tigress inflicted area in Bijnore for providing the expertise in catching the tiger.
He said that after his visit he would find out where the efforts were lagging on the part of the forest department official. It may be recalled that Minister had also visited the last stray tiger area of Rehmankhera in 2012.
The Minister while talking to "The Pioneer" said that he was currently in consultations with the Tharu tribals in his area. " The Tharus have better knowledge of the forests and there are over twenty to twenty five Tharu villages in my area in Balrampur. I will take Tharu tribals from my area to the tigress inflicted area where they can talk with the locals and take inputs and tbus help in the tracking of the tigress" said the Minister.
Dr Shiv Pratap Yadav said that the Tharus who knew the jungle had much better knowledge which was more practical and not book based. " There is more that is required in such kind of exercises wherein the tigress has to be tracked than the bookish knowledge. Forest officials know their job but Tharus have a feel of the jungle because they are always on the move and know how to deal with the animals." he said.
The Minister said that he would be holding meetings with the forest officials and review the progress of the tiger operation. "I will not only review the progress but also visit the tiger areas and find out if there was anything lagging in the operations" he said.
Dr Shiv Pratap Yadav said that his last visit to the stray tiger area of Rehmankhera had helped in getting the beast trapped. "I had visited the Rehmankhera forests during the time a stray tiger had been moving in the area and it was I who pointed out that the elephants should be driven near the nullahs and that is where the tiger was located and later caught" said Yadav
He said that the prime difficulty which the forest department was facing was the fact that the tigress was operating in the buffer area. " This has been the major hurdle in catching the tigress although the Chief Wildlife Warden of Uttrakhand has been asked to declare the tigress as a maneater. The tigress is wily and clever and knows how to deal with the shooters" said Yadav.
It may be noted that the forest department has been pursuing the stray tigress of Moradabad who has officially taken over 10 victims from the Uttar Pradesh and Uttrakhand border. The tigress makes the kills in several gaps and has successfully evaded the forest staff despite the fact that there has been a joint effort on both sides and there are several teams on ground.