After the Centre’s assent to the creation of the Ramgarh Vishdhari sanctuary, the Rajasthan government is hoping to develop a tiger corridor connecting three tiger reserves passing through districts including Sawai Madhopur, Kota and Bundi.
“Happy to sanction one more tiger Sanctuary, Ramgarh Vishdhari Sanctuary which will link Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in the Northeast & Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve on the southern side. Increasing numbers of Tigers and other apex predators certify our robust biodiversity,” Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar had tweeted.
Senior officials from the Rajasthan forest department say that in April this year, the state government had sent the proposal to develop the Ramgarh Vishdhari sanctuary for tigers.
“Tigers have always frequented the area demarked for the Ramgarh Vishdhari tiger sanctuary and even now, tigers regularly pass through this area from the direction of Ranthambore. It is adjoining the buffer area of the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve. This newly proposed tiger reserve in Bundi district will connect the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in Sawai Madhopur district with the Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve in Kota district,” averred Mohan Lal Meena, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest and Chief Wildlife Warden, Rajasthan.
He also commented that with the new sanctuary coming up, a corridor including the three tiger reserves can be developed.
“We will be developing a tiger corridor connecting Ranthambore, Ramgarh Vishdhari and Mukundra. For this, around eight villages will have to be relocated. It will be a functional corridor which will help dealing in the issue of overpopulation of tigers which Ranthambore is facing currently,” said Meena.
While the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve at present has a population of more than 65 tigers, the Mukundra reserve is presently left with just one big cat, after a series of deaths inside the reserve.
Earlier, this year, the Rajasthan government had said in reply to an Assembly question that in the past two years, two tigers and two cubs have died at the Mukundra Tiger Reserve while one of the tigers have gone missing.
“We presently have one tiger in Mukundra Tiger Reserve, the tigress MT-4. We have sent a proposal to bring two males and one female from Ranthambore,” said Sedu Ram Yadav, Conservator of Forests and Field Director, Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve.