2,000 Officials Deployed As Part Of Nation-Wide Exercise

A team of 50 forest department officials, scouting for the presence of tigers, entered the dense forests of the Periyar Tiger Reserve on Monday morning and were in the reserve till sun down.

The third synchronized all India tiger census that is held once in every four years will begin on Monday.

Government urged to implement PAC recommendations

The Akhila Bharatha Ayyappa Seva Sanghom (ABass) has called for delinking Sabarimala and surrounding areas from the Periyar Tiger Reserve.
Speaking at a Meet the Press programme here on Wednesday, ABASS national vice-president D. Vijayakumar said the report submitted by the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament chaired by the late Buta Singh had recommended that Sabarimala,

The Periyar Tiger Reserve is preparing for the tiger census, 2014, with the support of a modern technique for identifying and tagging each tiger for more effective conservation.

The reserve will be the first in the country to give identification numbers to each tiger without outside support. The tigers are being numbered so that there will be a transparent way of finding out if any one goes missing.

Abandon plans to build a new dam, says activist

C.P. Roy, former chairman of Mullaperiyar Samara Samithi, has reiterated his demand for the construction of a tunnel from the Mullaperiyar dam.
He also has sought the abandonment of the plan to build a new dam. Mr. Roy’s demands come close on the heels of the State Budget allocating Rs.50 crore for the construction of a new dam at Mullaperiyar.

Hotels And Resorts Can Build Only Up To 3 Floors In These Areas

Thiruvananthapuram: An expert committee appointed by the state government to demarcate the eco sensitive zones (ESZ) around national parks and wildlife sanctuaries has recommended stringent regulations for construction of buildings in these zones. It has suggested capping the height for hotels and resorts in the ESZ area to three floors besides limiting the construction area to 7,500 sqft.

Board nod must for pushing State’s case for new dam

The State Wildlife Board on Thursday will decide on a request for conducting an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) study for the new Mullaperiyar dam in the Periyar Tiger Reserve area and the declaration of eco-sensitive zones around wildlife sanctuaries of Kerala.

The first meeting of the recently reconstituted board will take up a proposal for an increase in the water level of the Peppara dam in Thiruvananthapuram. The clearance of the board is required for pushing the State’s application for the new dam. The delay in reconstituting the board had delayed the proceedings in the case.

Panel counsel says States can prepare site-specific tourism plans considering ecological, social and religious issues

The Supreme Court’s observation that guidelines for protection of tiger reserves will not hamper the movement of devotees to the Sabarimala temple comes after a point-blank submission in court by the Kerala government that any attempt to introduce curbs would primarily affect religion, not tourism. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has framed a set of comprehensive guidelines for Project Tiger and tourism in tiger reserves. The guidelines are proposed to be issued under Section 38-O (c) of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

The Supreme Court today permitted the Centre to notify within a week its fresh guidelines for tiger conservation and regulating tiger tourism.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed the Centre to notify within a week its fresh guidelines on tiger conservation.