30 tigers to be relocated from Chandrapur to other parts of Maha in 2 phases to reduce man-animal conflict: Minister

Chandrapur, Mar 5 (PTI) Maharashtra minister Sudhir Mungantiwar has said that in order to curb the incidents of man-animal conflict in Chandrapur, a total of 30 tigers will be relocated from the district to other parts of the state.

In the first phase, five felines will be relocated to the Navegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reseve in neighbouring Gondia district, while in the second phase, 25 individuals will be shifted to other places in the state, he said.

Mungantiwar, who is the state Forests and Cultural Affairs Minister as well as Chandrapur District Guardian Minister, was speaking on Saturday evening during a programme on ‘Opportunities and activities in fish business sector’ at Saoli tehsil in Chandrapur.

“The number of human beings dying in tiger attacks (in Chandrapur) is increasing by the day. Therefore, it has become imperative to take measures towards reducing the human-wildlife conflict. The count of tigers has increased in the district and they are intruding into human habitats,” he said.

“The tigers in Chandrapur district will be relocated in two phases. In the first phase, five of them will be shifted to Navegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve in Gondia. In the second phase, 25 other tigers will be relocated to Sahyadri, Melghat and Sambhajinagar,” he added.

The state government has taken necessary permission from the Centre, the minister added.

The relocation of tigers will provide a relief to villagers in Chandrapur and help reduce the man-animal conflict, he said.