Bhubaneswar, Aug 29: Showing concern for the sudden rate of decrease in the number of tigers in the state, senior Congress leader and former Union Environment and Forests minister, Jairam Ramesh requested, in a letter addressing to the CM, the state government to take urgent steps to save the population of the magnificent predators in the state.
Ramesh laid stress on the fact that when he had visited the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehra Dun, he was shocked on witnessing the fact that the tigers are on their way to get extinct especially in Simlipal and Satkosia forests in Odisha. He also mentioned about the steps taken when he was the Union minister for Environment and Forests. He said that a special task force was formed in June, 2009 in order to save the tigers of Odisha which are unique because of their special black stripes, but that time the government officials rejected this scheme and challenged the population estimates made by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
Lastly, he requested the CM to show his concern and interest over the pertaining issue as he had done earlier.
