Out of 40 thousand only 1800 were left… still the tiger is alive! If tigers could speak today they would have thanked
Then there were 40 thousand tigers in India.
Project Tiger is the success story of India. In the past, when cheetahs were brought from abroad, today’s generation came to know that how the cheetahs present on our land were destroyed. If this project had not started in 1973, the same condition might have happened to the tigers. In 1972, their number had come down to around 1800. Due to this project the figure started increasing and in 1984 it reached beyond 4000. In 2006, the tiger population decreased again and the figure had come down to 1411, but in the figures of 2018, their number again reached close to 3000. In 1973 there were only 9 tiger reserves. Today there are 53 reserves in the country.
You will be surprised to know that in the beginning of the 19th century there were 40,000 Royal Bengal Tigers in the country. In the 70s, the family was reduced to 1800. In 1969, the meeting of the International Union for Conservation of Nature was going on in Delhi, when an IFS officer put forward a report on the killing of tigers and the need for conservation, attracted the attention of the whole world. The then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi talked about giving full support to save the tigers. Tiger hunting was banned in India for five years. However, the international community was not happy with this. The task force headed by Karan Singh submitted its report to Indira Gandhi in September 1972. This was the blueprint for India’s tiger conservation programme. On 1 April 1973, Gandhi formally launched Project Tiger from the Jim Corbett National Park. At that time a fund of 4 crores was given for this. In 50 years, this funding has increased to 500 crores.
What will happen after 50 years?
On April 1, 1973, the then Union Tourism Minister Karan Singh expressed apprehension that if the present situation was not changed, our children would not be able to see tigers when they grow up. His fear did not come true, but the challenge for the next 50 years is no less. Experts are saying that due to people-centric policies, the safety of Tiger may be in danger. According to the report of our associate newspaper Times of India, Debi Goenka, executive trustee of the Conservation Action Trust in Mumbai, has warned that the way tiger habitats and corridors are being destroyed for road-rail and other projects, those born after 2050 Children will not be able to see wild tigers. He has demanded to stop the trends of destroying forests in the name of development. The fear of experts is not for nothing. Today encroachment on forest land has increased. The life of the forest is affected by the construction of the highway. Rail lines are proving to be the stuff of death for wild animals. Canal and power line are also not safe for them. Just think more for these dumb people.
