Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Forest department has approved the proposal to expand the Kuno National Park area. The gazette notification is likely to be issued in the following days, said a senior officer of forest department. On getting the necessary permission, the Kuno will get an additional 540 square kilometer area from the territorial forests of neighbouring Shivpuri and Sheopur districts. This will provide Kuno more land for its cheetah project.
Currently, the national park is spread in an area of over 1,200 square kilometers. When the adjoining forest areas of Shivpuri and Sheopur come under Kuno's administration, monitoring cheetahs that stray into these areas will become easier. Moreover, currently the sought area of Shivpuri and Sheopur are territorial forest. Once these areas come under the jurisdiction of Kuno , they would be developed as per cheetah habitat requirements.
Kuno National Park had submitted the expansion proposal last year to include areas of nearby jungles within Shivpuri and Sheopur limits. Kuno National Park had sent a proposal to the forest department seeking expansion of its area by including some areas of nearby jungles within the limits of Shivpuri and Sheopur districts.
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Activists seeks SIT probe into Cheetah death
The Kuno National Park has received the autopsy report of lone free-ranging cheetah Pawan who was found dead in a nullah recently. The report has pointed out drowning as the possible reason for Pawan's death. Meanwhile, Wildlife activist Ajay Dubey has written a letter to National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) member secretary, seeking SIT probe into the death of Cheetah Pawan.
Dubey also demanded removal of Kuno field director Uttam Sharma and district forest officer Thirukural. He claimed that head of forest force (HoFF) Asim Shrivastava had summoned Uttam Sharma to Bhopal to prepare the draft of the forest department’s tender and it was during this period that Cheetah Pawan went missing and died subsequently. This shows gross negligence towards Cheetah project, said the activist He further said that the forest department had silently formed a committee to probe Pawan’s deaths but it would be better that NTCA constitutes its own probe panel. Without getting the autopsy report, Uttam Sharma reached the conclusion that Pawan had died due to drowning.
