Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that along with being a tiger state, Madhya Pradesh did pioneering work in the field of protection and growth of leopards, ghariyals and wolves.
State even pioneered new methods in forestry, he said while addressing the state-level function held on International Tiger Day in Bhopal on Saturday. “To save cheetah, work is underway in Gandhi Sagar sanctuary (Mandsaur) as well and it is challenging,” he added.
He was of the view that mother earth was created for all the creatures but owing to vested interests, wildlife reached extinction stage in many places. Expressing pleasure on Madhya Pradesh becoming tiger state for second consecutive time, he said that when world was concerned about how to protect tigers, Madhya Pradesh showed the way.
Earlier, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife) Asim Shrivastava said that Madhya Pradesh was a leader in wildlife management. Shedding light on state’s success in this regard, he said tiger population increased due to relocation of villages from protected areas, enhanced security arrangements and translocation of big cats to other places.
Chief minister released State Wildlife Action Plan 2023-24 on the occasion. Fifth Bird Survey-Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary Mandsaur and International Conference on Wildlife Conservation: Emerging Scenario and Way Forward, were also released. Chouhan felicitated the forest officials for working tirelessly in different sectors including crime investigation, rescue of animals.
