A tiger was allegedly electrocuted to death on a farm that falls a kilometre away from a Karkandla sanctuary in Maharashtra on 29th November. This is the 38th tiger death in my state in the past 6 months. I don’t want a 39th death so I have started this petition. Sign my petition.

Earlier this year in April 2021, a four-year-old pregnant tiger was brutally choked to death along with her four foetuses, by unidentified poachers in a forest range near Nagpur. This was one of the most brutal cases of poaching in our country. Yet the matter was kept under wraps by the forest department for more than 24 hours for reasons best known to them.

The Government of Maharashtra is aware of all these incidents and yet has not made a public statement or announced a crackdown on poachers and encroachers.

Even the Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) of India had pulled up the state government in 2018 and 2019 for severe lapses in management of tiger reserves across the state. It flagged that a) Tiger Conservation Plans were either non-existent or severely delayed, b) interventions for enabling policy decisions and implementing initiatives for protection and conservation of tigers were ineffective. c) It also found that state revenue and forest departments had not been able to secure tiger habitats because of encroachment by human settlements, tourist facilities, highways and railway lines. As a result, tigers have died due to electrocution and road accidents.

As a citizen and climate activist from Mumbai, I am shocked to see my state, Maharashtra, at the top of the table when it comes to tiger deaths by poaching. I’m afraid they will continue to do so in the absence of strong and immediate action by the government. Join me in demanding action through this petition.

MY DEMANDS

I have started this petition addressed to Aditya Thackeray, the Environment Minister of Maharashtra. Like fellow youth of the state, I know he too feels strongly about wildlife conservation. However, he has not addressed the issue in public as yet. I urge him to speak out as the Minister concerned.

Sign my petition asking Aditya Thackeray to make a strong statement and announce an action plan to protect tigers from poachers and encroachers immediately.

• The action plan must put in place strong measures to protect and conserve tigers. 
• It must include clearing the buffer zone near tiger reserves of habitation by illegal encroachers and
• strict action against those who use electrically-rigged traps to electrocute tigers to death.

I urge the Minister to take note of the observations made by CAG in its report about failed tiger conservation in Maharashtra and begin implementation of policies and measures to protect tigers and their habitats in the state of Maharashtra

Friends and fellow citizens, I cannot emphasise enough how vital it is that the government take a stand right now so that poachers tremble with fear. Any delay in a statement will be as good as a green signal to poachers to continue. This will result in more tiger deaths. India recently reported an increase in the tiger population. We cannot let it go back to the way it was earlier.

I appeal to all citizens to sign this petition. Your signature will convey the scale of public support and encourage Mr. Thackeray to respond.

If we sit quiet, all of us, including the government and citizens, will be to blame for the next time the poachers strike.

Sign and Share this petition to #CatchTigerPoachers