Tiger corridor planned to facilitate movement from Maha to Kawal reserve

Adilabad: Forest authorities of Maharashtra and Telangana, in a bid to track tiger movement and curb timber smuggling along the Penganga River, have decided to develop a tiger corridor from the Tipeshwar tiger reserve to Kawal.

The move comes against the backdrop of increasing tiger density in the Tipeshwar reserve, with the territorial big cats looking for new habitations.

The decision was taken in a meeting held two days ago in Adilabad, wherein officials of Yavathmal in Maharashtra met their Adilabad counterparts to take important conservation decisions.

Senior forest officials said that Bheempur mandal in Adilabad is especially considered a gateway for tigers to move from Maharashtra to Telangana.

Following the decision, the officials of both states will submit a project report to develop the corridor via Bheempur mandal, under the Tiger Conservation Project. Forest officials also decided to submit a report to the National Tiger Conservation Authority of India (NTCA), seeking permission to relocate tigers to Kawal Tiger Reserve.

Going ahead, forest officials decided to convert Bheempur and Tamsi mandals into tiger landscapes shortly.

DFO Kiran Jagtap of Pandharkawada in Maharashtra said they were taking all measures for the conservation of tigers and were getting good results. He said they would extend all possible help to the Adilabad forest officials to develop a tiger corridor for tigers to move to the Kawal Tiger Reserve.

Adilabad DFOs Prashant Patil and Ramkishan Yadav, besides other senior officials of both states, took part in the meeting.