Minister of State for Zoological Gardens 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 20 to 25 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 thus help in the tracking of the tigress,” said the Minister.
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.