Cameras to be installed for alerts on big cat intrusion

First India Bureau

Chandrapur: Cameras will be installed near a village in Chandrapur in Maharashtra to curb conflicts between humans and big cats in the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve, a senior official said on Monday. These cameras will have a mechanism by which villagers, officials and personnel from the ‘primary response team’ will receive alerts in case a wild animal intrudes into human habitat in the vicinity, TATR Chief Conservator of Forests Jitendra Ramgaokar said.

“Twenty cameras will be installed around Seetarampeth village.

They will send alerts via internet after the image of a leopard or tiger is captured. It is a first of its kind project in Maharashtra to curb man-animal conflicts and is estimated to cost Rs 25 lakh,” he told reporters.

He also said TATR Foundation Day will be celebrated on February 23, during which computer tablets, laptops and bicycles will be given to meritorious girl students who reside in the buffer and core zone.The state forest ministry has decided that one-third of the income generated from tourism in TATR will be used for development work in villages in the vicinity, Ramgaokar said.