Tigers entering from Maharashtra add to woes of Telangana forest officials

ADILABAD: Forest officials of erstwhile Adilabad district in general and Kagaznagar forest division in particular, are under tremendous pressure to accommodate or at least provide habitat to the rising numbers of migrated tigers and other wild animals in forests.

Tigers are coming out of the forests to establish their own territory. An increase in their population and insufficient forest area in Kagaznagar Forest Division has resulted in man-animal conflict. Forest officials are confident that Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao wants to put an end to the podu issue but will not make a hasty decision at the cost of forest and wildlife.

Forest officials assert that the state government will take a serious note of encroachment and illegal cultivation on forest lands. Even as the forest department is making efforts to create habitat for more wildlife, the state government is planning to issue pattas to podu lands.

A senior officer working in Kagaznagar forest division said that they were under tremendous pressure because tigers are migrating from Tadoba Andhari tiger reserve in Maharashtra and also because of a steady increase in the population of other animals.

The forest officer said that Kagaznagar forest division was no longer a tiger corridor. It has become a ‘tiger breeding ground’ and serious efforts are being made to ensure that tigers enter Kawal tiger reserve.

Officials claim that nearly eight tigers, including cubs, are moving in Kagaznagar forest area since it shares borders with Tadoba Andhari tiger reserve.