Regardless of the tons of toxic wastes littered in the Union Carbide factory site, the Madhya Pradesh government has been pursuing with the Centre a proposal for awarding the status of Global Environment City on Bhopal. The city already has a few of its components, such as some lakes – one of them even a Ramsar Site – hills and, of course, a lot of greenery which, though, of late has appreciably diminished at a rapid pace. Nonetheless, the government continues to pursue the ambition of having the city declared as an Environment City. What should strengthen the government’s claims in this regard is occurrence of a recent phenomenon – that of the big cats trying to convert the city into their haunt. With the wildest of wildlife in the city none would ever think of denying the sobriquet that the government so earnestly seeks, more so after the state lost its “Tiger State” sobriquet.
A tiger had been roaming the jungles near the town for a couple of years now. It strayed from the nearby Ratapani Sanctuary and came close to the town near the dam known as Kerwa. It had on occasions been seen wandering around in the massive complex of the local Judicial Academy. It would, however, retrace its steps and get back to the jungles close to Chandanpura near Kerwa and make meals of a few livestock in the forest villages. Sighted with two cubs in April last, the state Forest Department made all possible arrangements to ensure that they did not come to harm. Yet the tigress met its inevitable fate last June at the hands of poachers who cruelly electrocuted it. One was, however, ex
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