A century ago, the feudal species made a fetish of tiger shooting.

Opposition members in the Assembly today alleged apathetic attitude of the State Government towards protecting forest and wildlife.

A few weeks ago this newspaper was kind enough to publish an article I wrote on the sorry fate of the tiger. The article may have just worked.

Bokakhat

Following the repeated killing of rhinos at the world heritage site Kaziranga, the AASU organised a citizens' meet on the premises of Kaziranga Convention Centre on Sunday. The meet was chaired by Jatin Bora, the vice-president of AASU and was attended by over a thousand people. In the meeting AASU adviser Dr Sammujjal Bhattacharyya opined that the State government must save Kaziranga by any means. Taking part in the meet, Saumayadeep Dutta of Natures Beckon said that the Forest department authorities were not up to their task in regard to protection of the fauna. On the other hand, several speakers urged for quick action to save Kaziranga. The other speakers were Arup Kr Dutta, Dr Umesh Deka, Dr Biren Barthakur, Arun Goswami, Nava Thakuria, AASU general secretary Tapan Kr Gohain etc. The speakers urged the Forest department to take immediate action to save the rhinos.

Forest officials in Satna districtof Madhya Pradesh have arrested one person in connection with the shooting of a tiger in Uchehara area. The arrested person identified - as Bihari Prasad Kol was produced in a court in Nagoud town on Wednesday which remanded him to judicial custody till March 3 for further probe, official sources said on Thursday. Forest officials are now hoping to catch the gang of poachers allegedly involved in the smuggling and killing of animals in the region.

A joint team of forest personnel and police today arrested five linkmen of poachers from different places. They are Nagina Majhi of Majhina Hatikhuti TE, Dhiren Ingti and Biren Ingti of Engleng Pathar, Mauna Akhtar Ahmed alias Raj of Methoni TE and Md Manir Khan of Garubandha, Jakhalabondha. Raj is the son of the night chowkidar of Methoni TE and Manir is a tailor from Barjuri. It is pertinent to mention here that it is in the Methoni TE that the tragic killing of one female rhino took place.

On the night of October 1, 1998, when Salman Khan went hunting blackbucks, he was explicitly warned not to do so in the Bishnoi area because only a few have managed to get away from them. Yet Khan and his co-stars Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Sonali Bendre and Neelam, along with local contacts, went ahead and shot two blackbucks.

Though the Salman Khan case is being actively prosecuted, and is in the public eye, this is no thanks to the legal, judicial and enforcement systems currently in place. There is a strong current

In Jodhpur range, from 1991 to May 2007, the state's forest department has registered 650 cases under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Of these, 391 are minor crimes, such as cutting wood or

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