Cong demands probe in to vanishing tigers

BHOPAL: The decline in number of tigers in Panna Tiger Reserve today took a political hue, with Madhya Pradesh Congress demanding an all-party MLAs committee to probe into the reason behind the disappearance of the big cats from the reserve.

"An all-party MLAs panel should be formed to look into the disappearance of tiger population from the Panna Reserve," Madhya Pradesh Congress General Secretary Captain Jaipal Singh said in a statement.

Congress' statement comes a day after reports quoting Madhya Pradesh Minister of State for Forests Rajendra Shukla, claimed that there was no tiger in the Panna Reserve.

Earlier, Singh said that the state government had maintained that there was a tiger in Panna and the forest officials, some months ago, trans-located two felines from Bandhavgarh and Kanha tiger reserves in Panna for reviving stripped animal's population.

But, a team of National Tiger Conservation Authority, which visited Panna last month found that there was no tiger for the two trans-located felines to revive the animal's population, the General Secretary said.

Singh said that the committee should be helped by the wildlife experts enabling it to conduct a detailed probe and thereafter the forest officials responsible for the lapses should be dealt with strictly.