Tadoba: NTCA condemns incident in Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve | News from Nagpur

Nagpur: The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), a statutory body under MoEFCC which oversees all tiger reserves in the country, has strongly condemned the recent incident in Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR). In the incident, a tigress named Roma (T-114) was cornered by over 150 tourists, drivers and guides in 20 safari vehicles on May 17 on the Khatoda-Tadoba road. Speaking to TOI, NTCA secretary Gobind Sagar Bhardwaj on Sunday said, “This is not eco-tourism but eco-terrorism.” Bhardwaj added, “We have taken the incident very seriously and the park administration has taken action against guides and vehicle drivers for obstructing the tigress.” Bhardwaj further said, “On Sunday, nine drivers and guides were temporarily suspended and fined Rs 3,000 for not maintaining adequate distance between the tiger and the safari vehicles. “Also, a guide of a TATR vehicle has been suspended for a month and the driver permanently dismissed,” said Anand Reddy, deputy director of TATR (core). Some tourists, who wished to remain anonymous, said, “Surprisingly, this belated action was taken only eight days later. Tadoba was aware of the incident as it has installed the ‘Bagheera app’ to monitor the safari vehicles. There were over 150 tourists there and it is surprising how well the incident was kept under wraps.” They added, “The chaos is purely due to the VIP quota being exceeded. The capacity of the core area from the six entrances of the park is only 125 vehicles, but since it is peak season for wildlife tourism, this capacity limit is often exceeded.” Uday Patel, volunteer wildlife warden of Gadchiroli, said, “If the park has opened 14 entry gates in the buffer zone, then why is the capacity of the core area not being reduced? The Supreme Court in 2012 ordered a gradual shift of tourism from core areas to buffer zones, but this order is not being followed in any park in the country.” TATR deputy field director Kushagra Pathak did not take calls from TOI. The incident came to light after videos/photos of crowded vehicles surrounding the tigress went viral on social media. “Such incidents raise concerns about the negative impact of unregulated tourism on wildlife and their habitat,” said wildlife photographer Sandeep Gujar. NTCA officials said, “Our decision to take action against the perpetrators is a clear indication that such behaviour will not be tolerated in future.” Former warden Jaydeep Das said, “The incident underscores the need for stricter monitoring and enforcement of tourism policies.” Nagpur: The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), a statutory body under MoEFCC that oversees all tiger reserves in the country, has strongly condemned the recent incident in Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR). In the incident, a tigress named Roma (T-114) was cornered on the Khatoda-Tadoba road by over 150 tourists, drivers and guides in 20 safari vehicles on May 17. Speaking to TOI on Sunday, NTCA secretary Gobind Sagar Bhardwaj said, “This is not ecotourism, it is eco-terrorism.” Bhardwaj added, “We have taken the incident very seriously and the park administration has taken action against guides and vehicle drivers for obstructing the tigress.” Bhardwaj further said, “On Sunday, nine drivers and guides were temporarily suspended and fined Rs 3,000 for not maintaining adequate distance between the tiger and the safari vehicles. “Besides, a guide of a TATR vehicle was suspended for a month and the driver was permanently dismissed,” said Anand Reddy, deputy director, TATR (core). Some tourists, who wished to remain anonymous, said, “Surprisingly, this belated action came only eight days later. Tadoba was aware of the incident as it has installed the ‘Bagheera app’ to monitor the safari vehicles. There were over 150 tourists and it is surprising how well the incident was kept under wraps.” They added, “The chaos is purely due to the VIP quota being exceeded. The capacity of the core area from the six entrances of the park is only 125 vehicles but since it is peak season for wildlife tourism, this limit is often exceeded.” Uday Patel, volunteer wildlife warden of Gadchiroli, said, “If the park has opened 14 entry gates in the buffer zone, then why is the capacity of the core area not being reduced? The Supreme Court ordered a gradual shift of tourism from core areas to buffer zones in 2012, but this order is not being followed in any park in the country.” TATR deputy field director Kushagra Pathak did not take calls from TOI. The incident came to light after videos/photos of crowded vehicles surrounding the tigress went viral on social media. “Such incidents raise concerns about the negative impact of unregulated tourism on wildlife and their habitat,” said wildlife photographer Sandeep Gujar. NTCA officials said: “Our decision to take action against the perpetrators is a clear signal that such behaviour will not be tolerated in the future.” Former warden Jaydeep Das said: “The incident underscores the need for stricter monitoring and enforcement of tourism policies.”