India News | Raje Targets Rajasthan Govt over Tigress Death at MHTR

Kota, May 5 (PTI) Former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje Friday accused the Congress government of mismanagement over the death of a tigress at the Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve, and said the re-introduction project of the big cat should be taken with seriousness.

The nine-year-old full-term pregnant tigress -- MT-4 -- died on Thursday, with officials saying it was pregnant with three cubs and suffering from severe constipation.

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Dubbing the death of the tigress as devastating, Raje said it was yet another setback for the tiger project.

"Death of Tiger MT4 at Mukundara Hill's Tiger Reserve is devastating. And yet another huge setback for the project, which is already gravely mis-managed by the ruling disposition. I implore the State govt. to take the Tiger re-introduction in #MHTR seriously. Protocols are laid down by @ntca_india for a reason. It is evident that protocols were not followed," she tweeted.

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Congress MLA from Sangod Bharat Singh, meanwhile, said MT-4's death was unfortunate and a major setback to MHTR and the tiger project at a time while enthusiasts were expecting positive and good news from the reserve.

Singh, who is also a member of state wildlife board, urged the government and the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to shift at least two tigresses to MHTR to pair with the lone tiger MT-5. The legislator termed it a natural disease-hit death.

However, 71-year-old wildlife activist and ex-honorary wildlife warden Bittal Sanadhya said the tigress' death was the result of inadequate tracking by forest staff and failure in diagnosing pregnancy of the animal in time.

"An Indian Forest Service officer had earlier mentioned water in MHTR was contaminated or contained elements that tend to cause digestive troubles to animals," Sanadhya said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)