Tall claims

Guwahati, Oct. 1: Nature’s Beckon, an environmental activist group of the region, today alleged that the forest department is portraying a “false” picture of tigers in Assam by claiming that the tiger population was increasing.

“If Kaziranga harbours 32 tigers per 100 square km as has been reported, tiger sighting should have become common for every visitor but which, in fact, is not,” Soumyadeep Datta, director of Nature’s Beckon, said at a news conference here today.

The weeklong Wildlife Week started in Assam today in which several programmes will be held in the districts.

On tiger conservation, Assam forest minister Rockybul Hussain recently said that “when the hope for tiger conservation is dimming all over the world, Assam’s forests continue to offer best habitats for this charismatic and majestic animal for centuries”.

Datta, however, said there were more tigers in Assam two decades back than now. “The 1993 tiger census report showed that there were 430 tigers but by 2000 there were only 346 tigers which means that 84 tigers were lost in seven years,” he said.

Datta said the forest department did not take any effective measure to redress the situation of tiger disappearance. “In fact, they tried to hide the data and started grabbing money allocated for tiger conservation.”

He said research should be backed by protection or else it is of no use. “The current research in Kaziranga which reveals that there are 32 tigers per 100 square km will lose its meaning if there are enough protection measures in place.”

“Today, on the first day of Wildlife Week, we request the forest department to do its job honestly and with due care to wildlife,” he said.

Datta said his organisation was starting work on a public initiative to conserve the cat species. Eight species of wild cats are found in Assam. “We will try to educate the people about the necessity to conserve wild cat and its habitat. Books, stickers, leaflets will be brought out and training camps arranged.”

Citing the case of leopard, Datta said for lack of proper knowledge about the behaviour and poor handling, both parties have to suffer. He said in two years’ time, the organisation would mobilise at least two million people for the conservation of wild cats.

The NGO urged the state forest department to declare Poba reserve forest in Dhemaji district a sanctuary and include Joypur reserve forest in Dihing Patkai sanctuary.