Madhav Tiger Reserve inaugurated; becomes MP's ninth reserve for the big cat

Bhopal, Mar 10 (PTI) Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Monday inaugurated the Madhav Tiger Reserve in Shivpuri district by releasing a tigress.

It is the ninth such reserve of MP, which has the highest number of tigers in India.

Yadav termed it a historic day for the state's Chambal region and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the "unprecedented gift of a ninth tiger reserve".

"The MP government is making every possible effort to promote wildlife tourism in Chambal region. The highest number of tigers in the world are found in India and the highest number of big cats in the country exist in Madhya Pradesh. Only Chambal region was without tigers. This gap has also been fulfilled today," Yadav said.

"The state has forest wealth and wildlife in large numbers. There are cheetahs in Kuno National Park of Chambal region, gharials in Chambal River and now tigers in Madhav National Park will become the centre of attraction for tourists. Tourism will increase in this region, employment opportunities will be created and new doors of development will open for Gwalior-Chambal region," the CM added.

The reserve was inaugurated on the birth anniversary of former Union minister late Madhavrao Scindia, father of Union Minister for Communications and Development of North Eastern Region Jyotiraditya Scindia.

The inauguration of this tiger reserve area on the birth anniversary of late Madhavrao Scindia is a step forward for the overall development of the state, Yadav said.

On the occasion, Jyotiraditya Scindia thanked Yadav for giving a historic gift to the Gwalior-Chambal region.

"The Madhav Tiger Reserve has strengthened the possibilities of wildlife tourism in the Chambal region. Now the combined area of Kuno and Madhav Tiger Reserve will exceed 3000 square kilometres," Scindia said.

As per the report Status of Tigers: Co-predators & Prey in India-2022', released by the National Tiger Conservation Authority and Wildlife Institute of India (latest census), Madhya Pradesh has the highest number of tigers in the country at 785, followed by Karnataka (563) and Uttarakhand (560). PTI ADU BNM