A loud roar for big cats on Tiger Day
2
Lucknow: Face painting event marked an awareness programme on World Tiger Day, organised by State Museum in the city on Tuesday. The event highlighted that India's national animal, tiger, remained in the endangered category despite conservation efforts.
Currently, India maintains 50 tiger reserves across the country.
State culture minister Jaiveer Singh was the chief guest at the event, directed by Srishti Dhawan, director of the State Museum. Along with face painting sessions, informative leaflets highlighting Govt of India's tiger conservation initiatives were distributed.
Nawab Wajid Ali Shah Zoological Park celebrated India's success in doubling its tiger population ahead of global targets.
Minister of state (Independent Charge) for forest, environment and climate change, Arun Kumar Saxena, highlighted this year's theme 'Human Tiger Co-existence'.
The event began with a conservation-themed marathon in which 100 students from Lucknow Public School participated, followed by inauguration of 'Bagh Express,' a new rescue vehicle donated by Astle Foundation. A street play on tiger conservation and documentary by Pilibhit Tiger Reserve were also exhibited during the ceremony. Principal secretary Anil Kumar noted that UP's four tiger reserves demonstrated successful conservation efforts, with tiger numbers nearly doubling in past 15 years.
Zoo director Aditi Sharma and assisstant director Utkarsh Shukla were also present on the occasion.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economic Times
6 hours ago
- Economic Times
Tigers are not out of the woods yet
Synopsis India faced a severe decline in its tiger population post-independence. Project Tiger helped increase the numbers significantly. Now, the tiger population is over 3,700. Balancing tourism and conservation is a key challenge. Protecting villagers' interests is also important. The threat of poaching and the Chinese market remains. India needs innovative solutions for tiger conservation. Agencies The figures speak for themselves. In 1947, India's human population was 340 million and there were an estimated 40,000 tigers; when Project Tiger was launched in 1973, there were just 268 of them left although humans in India had nearly doubled to 584 million by then. So, since Independence 1,600 tigers had been killed per year, more than during the British Raj actually, although it was the white sahibs who had made large-scale hunting of the big feline a fashionable "sport".Till it was banned in 1972, people may recall that shikar was a tourism draw in India, with "game hunters" coming to shoot these magnificent animals, much as they kill lions in Africa now. That was probably justified then (as it is in some countries in Africa even now) as a legitimate economic activity, as there's such a "surplus" of them. What is a surplus? Surely if any species is "surplus" right now, it's humans but sport is not considered a way to remedy for "sport" or pleasure not food was always a pastime for Indian monarchs. But in the 19th century it became so democratised that every burra sahib, feudal and local notable worth his khidmatgars shot tigers, leopards and even the cheetah (the latter to extinction) by the mid-20th century. And to this day, hundreds of stuffed animals or their skins and heads adorn old forts, palaces and mansions. But people cringe at the very idea of displaying human skulls. Why?The human population of India has quadrupled from the 1947 figure to a whopping 1.4 billion now, but the tiger population has also increased over 10 times from 1972's abysmal three-figure to over 3,700 now. That we have managed to do this is nothing short of amazing even though there are alarming photos all the time of hordes of noisy, camera-wielding desi tourists in our tiger reserves and national parks. And that highlights a piquant to retired Forest Service stalwarts speaking on World Tiger Day at the Tollygunge Club in Kolkata last week, it was clear that unless people feel invested in tigers, they will not be motivated to protect them. The official focus, of course, is on villagers who live next to tiger reserves and often feel sidelined in favour of the endangered species. Their concerns-especially regarding compensation for families of those killed by tigers-are being addressed so that they do not regard the animals as enemies or harbingers of death and financial ruin. But what about the millions of tourists? Roads cutting through core areas, more vehicles accessing sanctuaries and staying longer hours inside, hotels hemming in the jungle and the sheer pressure of human interest in tigers and other large wildlife like lions, rhinos, elephants, gaud (bison) are scary developments. But the monetary lure of the insatiable Chinese market for wild tiger parts is also a perennial threat. So, could curtailing public access in order to protect tiger habitats then actually aid poaching?India's human population growth has slowed hugely; we now have to continue to demonstrate to the world the efficacy of our different approach to "managing" wildlife too. When India banned the fashionable "sport" of hunting and decided to save the tiger, the world sniggered. Seeing 268 become 3,700, they cannot deny the success of Project Tiger. With the Chinese spectre always looming, India also needs to think imaginatively now to resolve the current tiger-tourism conflict too.
Time of India
6 hours ago
- Time of India
Tigers are not out of the woods yet
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel The figures speak for themselves. In 1947, India's human population was 340 million and there were an estimated 40,000 tigers; when Project Tiger was launched in 1973, there were just 268 of them left although humans in India had nearly doubled to 584 million by then. So, since Independence 1,600 tigers had been killed per year, more than during the British Raj actually, although it was the white sahibs who had made large-scale hunting of the big feline a fashionable "sport".Till it was banned in 1972, people may recall that shikar was a tourism draw in India, with "game hunters" coming to shoot these magnificent animals, much as they kill lions in Africa now. That was probably justified then (as it is in some countries in Africa even now) as a legitimate economic activity, as there's such a "surplus" of them. What is a surplus? Surely if any species is "surplus" right now, it's humans but sport is not considered a way to remedy for "sport" or pleasure not food was always a pastime for Indian monarchs. But in the 19th century it became so democratised that every burra sahib, feudal and local notable worth his khidmatgars shot tigers, leopards and even the cheetah (the latter to extinction) by the mid-20th century. And to this day, hundreds of stuffed animals or their skins and heads adorn old forts, palaces and mansions. But people cringe at the very idea of displaying human skulls. Why?The human population of India has quadrupled from the 1947 figure to a whopping 1.4 billion now, but the tiger population has also increased over 10 times from 1972's abysmal three-figure to over 3,700 now. That we have managed to do this is nothing short of amazing even though there are alarming photos all the time of hordes of noisy, camera-wielding desi tourists in our tiger reserves and national parks. And that highlights a piquant to retired Forest Service stalwarts speaking on World Tiger Day at the Tollygunge Club in Kolkata last week, it was clear that unless people feel invested in tigers, they will not be motivated to protect them. The official focus, of course, is on villagers who live next to tiger reserves and often feel sidelined in favour of the endangered species. Their concerns-especially regarding compensation for families of those killed by tigers-are being addressed so that they do not regard the animals as enemies or harbingers of death and financial ruin. But what about the millions of tourists?Roads cutting through core areas, more vehicles accessing sanctuaries and staying longer hours inside, hotels hemming in the jungle and the sheer pressure of human interest in tigers and other large wildlife like lions, rhinos, elephants, gaud (bison) are scary developments. But the monetary lure of the insatiable Chinese market for wild tiger parts is also a perennial threat. So, could curtailing public access in order to protect tiger habitats then actually aid poaching?India's human population growth has slowed hugely; we now have to continue to demonstrate to the world the efficacy of our different approach to "managing" wildlife too. When India banned the fashionable "sport" of hunting and decided to save the tiger, the world sniggered. Seeing 268 become 3,700, they cannot deny the success of Project Tiger. With the Chinese spectre always looming, India also needs to think imaginatively now to resolve the current tiger-tourism conflict too.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
Vijayawada restored as Haj embarkation point for 2026
Vijayawada: In a significant relief for Haj intending pilgrims from Andhra Pradesh, the ministry of minority affairs (MoMA) on Wednesday restored Vijayawada as an embarkation point for Haj 2026. Govt of India (GoI) secretary Vikas Mohan issued an addendum to this effect, including Vijayawada as an additional embarkation point for Haj 2026, in addition to the existing 17 embarkation points across the country. Earlier, chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu shot off a letter to the minister of minority affairs, Kiren Rijiju, urging the Centre to reconsider Vijayawada as the Haj embarkation point, as devotees from Andhra Pradesh were forced to travel to Haj embarkation points in Hyderabad and Bangalore after Vijayawada was removed from the list. On the occasion, AP Waqf board chairman Abdul Azeez and AP Haj committee members thanked chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, minority minister NMD Farooq, and MoMA Kiren Rijiju for reinstating Vijayawada as an embarkation point. Abdul Azeez said that the Haj embarkation point at Vijayawada will be a big relief for the pilgrims, significantly reducing travel burden and eliminating the need to travel to the neighbouring states. He further assured that the govt, along with the Haj committee, would strive to provide better amenities to devotees at the Vijayawada embarkation point in the coming days.
