'Tiger corridor' only after report on feline presence: Minister

Panaji: Goa government on Friday said that the decision to declare Mhadei wildlife sanctuary as a 'tiger corridor' would be taken only after receiving proper reports about the presence of wild cats in the region.

"If there are tigers, then the region should be declared as the corridor.

"But right now we have initiated a long-term study about presence of tigers in this area, and we will be able to conclude about presence of wild cats only after we receive the report," state environment minister Rajendra Arlekar told reporters after launching a website of the forest department.

He said the five-year-long survey has already begun and it will take at least one more year for the department to get report from the institute, which is conducting the study.

Arlekar recalled that the recent wildlife census, which was done using methods like camera-trapping, has shown presence of three tigers in the region.

The environmentalists in the state have been demanding that Mhadei wildlife sanctuary, which is in continuation to Dandeli Tiger Reserve, be declared as a 'tiger corridor'.