Row over entry of tiger cage in Nagpur

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Row over entry of tiger cage in Nagpur

 

Pradip Kumar Maitra, Hindustan Times

Nagpur , August 16, 2009

 

The nature-lovers and environmentalists in and around the region are up in arms

against the entry of a tiger cage at Maharajbagh zoo in Nagpur by the Guardian

minister of Nagpur district and Maharashtra Agriculture minister, Balasaheb

Thorat on Saturday evening.

 

It was said that the minister had arrived at the Maharajbagh zoo that was being

run by the Agriculture College on Saturday at 2.30 pm. The enthusiastic

Agriculture College officials reportedly invited the minister to have a close

look of the new tiger that was brought at the zoo from Chandrapur forest, a few

months back.

 

The minister immediately agreed and entered the tiger cage, violating all the

existing norms of the Central Zoo Authority. Moreover, the minister entered

there along with his armed security guards and the city Congress president

Jaiprakash Gupta.

 

All of them, particularly the minister, were caressing and patting the one-year

old big cat for over five minutes. The tiger cub was brought from Chandrapur by

the forest personnel, along with two other cubs, when their mother went missing

in Junona forest, adjoining Tadoba Tiger Reserves, five months ago.

 

“The attempt of the minister was very dangerous. The tiger could have mauled him

and that could have led to his security personnel for retaliation,” says Kishore

Rithe, a well-known conservationist and secretary of Satpuda Foundation.

 

He also expressed his anguish over the trend among ministers that they were

above the laws and often acted on whims and fancies. “Earlier, a powerful

Maharashtra minister had entered the famous Tadoba Tiger reserves in Chandrapur,

along with his staff at night, violating the forest and wildlife conservation

acts.

 

Meanwhile, the Maharashtra forest minister Babanrao Pachpute ordered an inquiry

to probe the matter. The conservator of forests (CF), Nagpur, N Rambabu will

investigate the matter and send a report to the ministry within a week. Rambabu

admitted that his department got an instruction in this regard from the minister

on Sunday evening.

 

“If there is a case of teasing of the wildlife animal, a case can be registered

against the minister and others who entered the cage,” informs a senior state

wildlife official, who preferred to anonymity.

 

Talking to Hindustan Times, the Agriculture minister Thorat, however, maintained

that it was a small issue and the matter was blown up out of proportion. “My

department runs the Maharajbagh Zoo at Nagpur and being the minister of the

department I visited and entered the cage to take a look of the wildlife there,”

he justified.

 

The Forest minister Pachpute was not available for comments.