State wildlife board okays move to set up Indian bison sanctuary

Hyderabad: The state government will send a proposal to the Centre to declare the tiger corridor in the forests in KB Asifabad, and Mancherial districts as a ‘conservation reserve’ in a bid to provide better protection to the big cats using the patchy forest areas sought from Maharashtra.

This will afford better protection of the tiger corridor forests in 1,492 square kilometers in Kagaznagar and Asifabad forest divisions.

This was among a slew of decisions taken at a meeting of the State Board for Wildlife (SBWL) on Tuesday that was chaired by forest minister Konda Surekha.

This decision comes in the wake of the back to back deaths of two tigers in Asifabad district.

The minister directed forest officials to pursue the idea of creating a gaur (Indian bison) sanctuary in Sathupalli and Kinnerasani forests where its population had been rising.

Other significant decisions that were approved by the board were providing fibre optic connectivity to all habitations in the forests. The minister said that steps will be taken for timely payment of salaries for outsourced staff, including tiger trackers, working in the Amrabad and Kawal tiger reserves.

State Board for Wildlife okays:

Steps to create a policy for requisitioning elephants for religious ceremonies from other states;

Include mitigation measures for wildlife safety in linear projects like roads and railway lines;

Explore possibility of extending compensation for those who die of snake bite on the lines of Rs10 lakh compensation to those who are killed in wild animal attacks;

Explore possibility of shifting of villages from within Amrabad tiger reserve on the lines of action being taken in Kawal.