Is India Winning the War Against Pollution? The fight for cleaner air and water intensifies as the nation grapples with the escalating impacts of climate change. From the devastating floods in Assam to the alarming rise in air pollution levels in Delhi, environmental challenges demand urgent action. This week saw crucial discussions on sustainable agriculture and renewable energy sources at the India Climate Change Conference, highlighting the government's commitment to tackling deforestation and promoting biodiversity conservation. But are these efforts enough? Experts warn of looming water scarcity and the need for stricter regulations on industrial emissions. The future of India's environment hangs in the balance, demanding collective responsibility and innovative solutions. Explore Abtak.com for in-depth analysis and the latest updates on environmental policies, climate activism, and the ongoing struggle for a sustainable India. Discover how you can contribute to a greener tomorrow.
Jaipur: The Sariska Tiger Reserve (STR) in Alwar Rajasthan has come up with country's first tiger memorial dedicated to its Rajmata, tigress ST-2 who repopulated this reserve with a family of 34 tigers. "Sariska has been repopulated thanks to tigress ST-2. The STR has 48 big cats, and 34 have come from the tigress' family. It gave life back to Sariska from the brink of extinction," said forest minister of the Sanjay Sharma, unveiling the memorial which has statues of the tigress and cubs on Sunday. He announced to observe 'Sariska Tiger Day' honouring ST 2, the Rajmata and said that this statue is not only a tribute dedicated to the tigress, but is also an inspirational symbol towards wildlife conservation. ST-2 lived an extraordinary life and created a whole family of tigers in Sariska. So from now on, every year 'Sariska Tiger Day' will be observed in the memory of Rajmata. Tigress ST-2 was trans located to Sariska project area from Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in the year 2008 when STR had lost all its tigers due to poaching. Born in April 2004 as the offspring of the famous tigress Machli T-16 and tiger T-2 of Ranthambore, ST-2 carried forward India's most prestigious tiger lineage. With an extraordinary life of 19.8 years, she was India's oldest living tigress who passed away in 2024. Forest minister said that because of the contribution of ST -2, the STR has become a nursery of tigers and soon Sariska will not only become self-sufficient but will send tigers to other reserves.
Bengaluru, Jun 28 (PTI) Two people were arrested on Saturday in connection with the death of a tigress and her four cubs in the Hugyam forest range of Male Mahadeshwara Hills, police said. The big cats were found dead on Thursday, and subsequent investigation revealed they were poisoned. The breakthrough came after the carcass of a poisoned cow belonging to Maada alias Maaduraju was found. According to police, Maaduraju was reportedly enraged after his cow named 'Kenchi' was preyed upon by wild animals. To avenge the loss, he sprayed poison on the cow's carcass. His friend Nagaraju too is ...Read More >
Ramnagar: (Uttarakhand): The tiger population is rising consistently in the Corbett Tiger Reserve and the forest fringes around it. These days, many tigresses are sighted frequently with their cubs roaming in the forests. This is a big achievement for the forest department but poses a serious challenge, as well. Tigers increased in Corbett and Forest Division: There are more than 260 adult tigers in the Corbett Tiger Reserve at present. Cubs less than two years of age are not included in this count. Apart from this, according to the last All India Tiger Estimation Report, the presence of 67 ...Read More >
Sheopur (MP), Feb 23 (PTI) Eight more cheetahs from Africa will be airlifted to Kuno National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh on February 28, taking the number of these big cats in India to 46, officials said on Monday. The batch from Botswana, comprising six females and two males, will reach Gwalior on an Indian Air Force (IAF) plane and then be ferried by helicopters to KNP at around 9:30 am on February 28, MP Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife) Subharanjan Sen told PTI. This is the third batch of cheetahs being brought in from Africa, after previous introductions from Namibia and ...Read More >
Bengaluru: Concerns have been raised following the report of another tigress' death in Karnataka on Saturday, coming close on the heels of the shocking incident involving the death of a tigress and her four cubs. According to forest officials, the latest death has been reported from the Gundre Forest Range in Bandipur, located in Chamarajanagar district. Authorities, based on preliminary investigation, have stated that the tigress, estimated to be between 4 and 5 years old, appears to have died of natural causes. However, the post-mortem report is awaited for confirmation. The carcass was d ...Read More >
New Delhi, Apr 2 (PTI) The Delhi government has approved the creation of nine posts of wildlife inspector through direct recruitment in the Department of Forests and Wildlife, officials said on Thursday. Deploying dedicated inspectors would help in protecting Delhi's biodiversity, and will eventually end wildlife vulnerabilities in our urban ecosystems, said Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa. "The government is transforming environmental governance through long-overdue foundation ...Read More >
Guwahati: Even as the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has put an immediate stay on the Assam government's decision to deploy over 1,600 Assam Forest Protection Force (AFPF) personnel for election duty, the state's forest department appears to be preparing for a legal pushback instead of compliance -- raising serious questions over intent and priorities. A two-member bench of the NGT's Eastern Zone, comprising Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi and Expert Member Ishwar Singh, on Thursday stayed the March 19 order that directed large-scale mobilisation of AFPF personnel for poll duty. The tribunal also is ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jun 29 (PTI) The Congress on Sunday attacked the Centre and Rajasthan governments over the reported plan to redraw the boundaries of the Sariska Tiger Reserve for the reactivation of over 50 mining operations, saying the move would be "ecologically devastating". The opposition party also said that with the Rajasthan and Union environment ministers both being from Alwar, this "double engine" cannot be supporting such a move. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh shared on X a media report which claimed that a plan to redraw the boundaries of Rajasthan's ...Read More >
PILIBHIT: Authorities at Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) have initiated action against a man identified as Arbaz Ansari of Pilibhit city for allegedly flying a drone over the Mala Forest Range, the core area of the reserve, and posting a 30-second video on social media.Officials said the clip, uploaded from an account named Pilibhit Zone, was shot by flying the drone from the Pilibhit-Madhotanda road that cuts through the core forest. The Mala range has one of the highest tiger densities in PTR, and authorities said "such filming could endanger wildlife safety".Divisional forest officer (DFO) Man ...Read More >
RANCHI: Tiger pugmarks found on the very first day of the tiger census have lent significant weight to forest officials' claims about the presence of big cats in the Palamu Tiger Reserve (PTR). The census began across Jharkhand on December 15. According to officials, it is being carried out across 31 territorial forest divisions and five protected wildlife divisions in the state, including major conservation areas such as the Palamu Tiger Reserve and the Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary. The exercise is part of a nationwide wildlife enumeration programme conducted once every four years to generate a ...Read More >
Viral video shows AI cameras spotting a herd of elephants. (Photo: X/susantananda3) Elephants in Odisha's forests often face the threat of train collisions on railway tracks, as highlighted by multiple reports over the years. To prevent such accidents, authorities installed four AI cameras in the Rourkela Forest Division. A post on X (formerly Twitter) by Susanta Nanda, a retired Indian Forest Service officer, stated that the use of AI cameras effectively averted another potential accident. In t ...Read More >
Bengaluru, Jun 27 (PTI) The discovery of a seemingly stale carcass of a cow in Hugyam forest range in Mahadeshwara Hills on Friday strengthens the doubt that the death of a tigress and her four cubs could be due to poisoning, officials said. These five tigers were found dead in this forest on Thursday. It is suspected that the miscreants had poisoned the cow, and after eating it, the tigress and its cubs might have died. "Either the bovine was poisoned before being left in the forest, or the owner of the cattle, after spotting the dead cow, would have spread poison on its body, which the ti ...Read More >
Karnataka: With a steady increase in the tiger population at the Male Mahadeshwara Hills (MM Hills) Wildlife Sanctuary, Karnataka's Forest, Ecology and Environment Minister Eshwar B Khandre has directed officials to begin the process of declaring the region a tiger reserve. He emphasized the need to first collect public opinion from the local communities before proceeding with formal proposals. Chairing a high-level meeting with senior forest officials, including the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden, at Vikasa Soudha today, Minister Khandre instructed the depar ...Read More >
Koraput: The tiger census has commenced in the Koraput range, covering ten identified areas as part of the wildlife monitoring exercise. The census operation, which began today, will continue until December 21. According to forest department sources, ten dedicated units have been deployed across ten locations within the Koraput range to carry out the census. The exercise is being conducted in forest areas including Dongri, Ranigad, Koraput-1, Koraput Sadar, and Magara, among others. The census is being carried out with the active participation of foresters, forest guards, and members of the ...Read More >
Bengaluru: Following the poisoning of five tigers at MM Hills Wildlife Sanctuary, forest minister Eshwar Khandre on Tuesday ordered an audit of tiger mortality in various tiger reserves (national parks) and wildlife sanctuaries of Karnataka. Delving into the activities of the wildlife wing, shortly after sending errant forest officials of MM Hills sanctuary on compulsory leave, the minister sought within 10 days a complete review of tiger deaths over the past five and a half years.As per the All-India Tiger Estimation report of 2022, Karnataka stood second in the country in tiger population, w ...Read More >
Bengaluru: Forest minister Eshwar Khandre's decision to initiate a departmental inquiry into the recent unnatural death of a leopard in the MM Hills wildlife sanctuary has triggered hopes among conservationists and wildlife enthusiasts about uncovering the truth behind such incidents.In the most recent case, the carcass of the big cat was found mutilated last month.Recollecting similar incidents in the past few years, the activists suspect an organised nexus of poachers could be behind such wildlife crime.A few days before the June 26 death of five tigers in the Hoogyam forest range of MM Hill ...Read More >
Bahraich (UP), Sep 15 (PTI) A 28-year-old man was killed in an alleged tiger attack near a canal in the Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary here, officials said on Monday. Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Suraj said that incident took place on Sunday evening when Indal Nishad, a resident of Harkhapur village in the Dharmapur range of the forest, went near the canal to relieve himself. Villages reported that a tiger emerged from the forest and attacked him, the DFO said. Hearing Nishad's cries for help, locals rushed to the spot but the tiger dragged him into a nearby sugarcane field, the officer ...Read More >
Mysore/Mysuru: Mysuru district has witnessed increasing tiger disturbances across several taluks, prompting the Forest Department to intensify operations. Between Oct. 12 and Nov. 30, officials successfully captured a total of 22 tigers, including 12 cubs, as part of measures to reduce human-wildlife conflict. Every year, from September to December, tigresses give birth and seek shelter along forest fringes, often near villages, tanks and fields. During this period, they become highly protective of their cubs, frequently attacking livestock and occasionally humans, leading to a sharp rise i ...Read More >
Jaipur: Chief minister Bhajan Lal Sharma Friday flagged off the first air-conditioned 'Rajasthan Vahini Bharat Gaurav Tourist Train' from Durgapura railway station under the Devasthan department's Senior Citizens Pilgrimage Scheme-2025. This initiative marked the beginning of the pilgrimage to Rameshwaram, carrying around 800 passengers.Under the scheme, 50,000 senior citizens will travel to 13 different pilgrimage sites via AC trains for the first time this year. The eight-day journey is the longest among the Devasthan department's pilgrimages, including visits to the Ramanathaswamy Jyotirlin ...Read More >
RANCHI/SILLI/PURULIA/KOLKATA: "Bhagwan Krishna ne aaj bacha liya (Lord Krishna has saved us today)," said farmer Puran Chand Mahto (55) of Mardu village in Ranchi district's Silli block, still unable to believe his luck at being alive to tell the tale of how he and his family - his three daughters and a relative, who is a minor - slept peacefully while a tiger silently crouched in a corner of the same room.Around 4.30am Wednesday, Puran was getting ready for the day. As he stepped out of his thre ...Read More >
Puri: Despite travel uncertainties due to recent conflicts in some parts of the world, people from Europe and elsewhere have reached Puri to witness the annual Ratha Yatra of the sibling deities.As non-Hindus are not allowed inside the 12th-century Jagannath Temple, the Ratha Yatra provides a rare opportunity for devotees across the world to see the deities in their full glory atop their majestic wooden chariots."Back home, we are surrounded by uncertainty and fear. But here, I found peace. I came because this is my only chance to see Lord Jagannath. He comes out for the whole world. This is v ...Read More >
Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], June 29 (ANI): Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene in saving Jaipur's Dol Ka Badh forest from destruction. The Rajasthan government plans to convert the forest into a commercial hub, featuring a Prime Minister's Unity Mall, a Fintech Park, and hotels, which would involve cutting down approximately 2,400 trees. Sanjay Singh, in a letter to PM Modi, mentioned that the project is against the 'ideology' of PM Modi's 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' mission and would harm the natural form and ecological balance of the area, exacerbat ...Read More >
Pune: Passengers on board a Goa to Pune SpiceJet flight (SG-1080) had a scare on Tuesday evening when a window panel was found dislodged while the plane was mid-air.The airline played down the incident, saying the window part that had come off was "a non-structural trim component, fitted onto the window for the purpose of shade".But a person on board the plane -- a Bombardier Q400 -- told TOI the incident triggered anxiety among the passengers. "Two to three layers of the window panel just came off," said Aatish Mishra, the passenger."There was no depressurization, but this shouldn't have happ ...Read More >
Mysuru: After the death of five tigers, including four cubs, at MM Hills Wildlife Sanctuary, forest officials are closely monitoring conflict zones near forest borders. Field officers have been instructed to intensify patrolling in the border areas.Foresters, however, admit there is a shortage of staff for patrolling in tiger reserves across Karnataka. PCCF (wildlife) and chief wildlife warden of Karnataka, Prabhash Chandra Ray, said he will review the situation to check any slackness in patrolling practices.The death of five tigers in a single day has added to the tiger mortality in Karnataka ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jul 3 (PTI) The Environment Ministry has strongly rejected allegations by forest rights groups that it is attempting to "subvert" the Forest Rights Act (FRA), calling them a "gross misunderstanding of facts" and asserting that it remains committed to both environmental protection and the welfare of forest-dependent communities. In a recent letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, more than 90 forest rights organisations had accused the ministry of trying to undermine the FRA and demanded that Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav clarify his reported statement that the "FRA leads to ...Read More >
A sub-adult tiger spotted moving between Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh has prompted wildlife authorities to explore the possibility of developing Ratanmahal in Dahod as a tiger sanctuary as part of the Union govt's Tigers Outside Tiger Reserves (TOTR) Project. The three-year-old male tiger, first sighted near Gujarat border in Feb, has been frequently captured on camera traps in Ratanmahal's core area since late May. This marks the second tiger sighting in the region within six years. A National Tig ...Read More >
Jaipur: After roaming across Rajasthan for 55 days, cheetah KP-2 was tranquillised and shifted to Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park Friday to prevent potential human-animal conflict.The cheetah, an offspring of the African feline Asha, spent 45 days in Baran district before moving to Kota for its final 10 days. The relocation was prompted after the animal began preying on local livestock.A senior forest official explained the urgency for the move. "The cheetah had killed goats on Thursday and c ...Read More >
India has launched an investigation after an endangered tigress and her four cubs were found dead in a protected forest in the southern state of Karnataka, an official said Friday. State forest minister Eshwar Khandre said the "unnatural" deaths were "extremely tragic and distressing" and that an investigation team had been formed. Local media reports said forest officials suspected poisoning. The tigress had reportedly killed a cow days earlier, and poison may have been laced into the carcass ...Read More >
Bengaluru, June 28 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Forest and Police authorities have cracked the sensational case involving the death of a tigress and her four cubs in the Male Mahadeshwara Hills forest region and arrested two persons in connection with the incident on Saturday. The arrested individuals have confessed to poisoning the meat in order to kill the tigers, claiming it was an act of revenge for the death of their cow. The accused have been identified as Mada, also known as Maduraju, and Nagaraju. Police are also questioning three other individuals in connection with the case. According to ...Read More >
Video shows drunk man petting tiger, offering it liquor in MP's PenchA shocking video claiming to show a man named Raju Patel from Madhya Pradesh's Pench petting and feeding liquor to a tiger went viral on social media but turns out, the entire incident is fake and the video is AI-generated. A shocking video recently stormed social media, allegedly showing a drunk man casually petting a tiger and even offering it liquor inside Madhya Pradesh's Pench Tiger Reserve. The video, which seemed s ...Read More >
The accused are also involved in illegal opium cultivation, an official said (Representational) A radio-collared tiger was allegedly poisoned to death, following which five persons were arrested on Saturday, Madhya Pradesh police said. The tiger's body was found buried in a pit in West Chhindwara division revenue area on Friday, the official said. "The tiger was brought from Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in Umaria in December 2004. It had formed its territory outside the reserve. Five persons have ...Read More >