By Marcellus D’Souza

Apr 18: The Amche Mollem group launched an on-line awareness campaign aimed at providing protection to the tigers found in Goa, This comes as a backdrop to Forest Minister Vishwajit Rane, who is against the idea of a tiger reserve in Goa as he claims the tigers are only ‘non-resident’ in the State and are using a corridor to pass through the state to move from Maharashtra to Karnataka.

The minister chastised the trolls on the subject stating that he did not require or take advice from “trollers and environmentalists”. He had said he need not be taught as he himself was a wildlife photographer and an environmental enthusiast. “This ‘advice’ will not change my mind regarding creating a tiger reserve in the State’, he retaliated aggressively.

The Amche Mollem group emphasised on the importance of the Tri Junction forest habitat for Tigers, which they explained consists of the forests of Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra that support the only breeding tiger population in the North-Central Western Ghats of India. “The State of Karnataka has the Kali Tiger Reserve and Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary, which is connected with the Protected Areas in Goa, which include the Bhagwan Mahaveer Sanctuary and National Park (Mollem), Netravali, Cotigao and Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuaries. Bhigmad and Mhadei are further connected to the newly-declared Tillari Conservation Reserve of the State of Maharashtra and further up to Radhanagari Wildlife Sanctuary,” the Amche Mollen group said.

The tigers in the Tri Junction forest habitat are at a ‘high risk of local extinction’, Amche Mollen group warned and stated that the tigers are at risk of being poached. “Therefore any further disturbance due to road expansion, railway expansion or cutting of habitation for transmission lines can severely affect this only contiguous population of tigers in this region,” the group added.

Rane had last week said, “A month-long tiger census 2022 is currently underway across all the protected wildlife areas of Goa”. “I know people are very concerned about tigers as they are extremely passionate. But declaring a tiger reserve is not advisable as the tigers spotted in Goa are in transit.”

“Declaring a tiger reserve will have a long-term impact not only on the people residing in the Mhadei sanctuary but across the State,” Rane had emphasised. The minister explained that the sightings that were reported are of a tiger that travels from neighbouring Karnataka. Quoting information he had received from the Forest Department. Rane said “I have been hearing tiger, tiger, tiger, tiger for the last few days. The tiger enters Goa through a corridor before exiting the state,” Rane asserted.

“The tiger survey is different from a tiger census. Some people do not understand these issues and try to distract people. As long as I am Forest Minister, a responsibility of given to me by chief minister and the central government, we will be functioning as a people friendly department. The forest department needs to work with along with the people. I will not allow any conflict with the people. We will take people-oriented and people-centric decisions,” Rane emphasised.

Tiger presence in Goa has been recorded since 2002 when the animal census conducted by the State Forest Department authenticated the wild cats presence in Mhadei area for the first time. A 2010 census showed the presence of five tigers in Goa. Tiger sightings in the Mhadei sanctuary thereafter became common.
A meeting has been called today of forest officers and guards.