Rishikesh, Apr 21 (PTI) Uttarakhand’s Corbett Tiger Reserve administration has devised a plan to fit radio collars around the necks of tigers, in a bid to protect the villagers living near the border areas, Sanctuary director Saket Badola said Monday.

Badola said that around 75 tigers are active in the border areas of Corbett and there is an ongoing threat of human-animal conflict.

He said that the plan to fit radio collars will help the government in ensuring the safety of the villagers who live near the border areas of Corbett Tiger Reserve.

In the first phase, the radio collars will be fitted to four to five tigers by selecting a very sensitive ‘fringe area’ and their activities will be monitored, he said. As soon as there is a sign of a tiger being near a human-populated area, patrolling will be initiated immediately.

Badola said that through these radio collars, they will also study when and after how much time duration the tigers come to the ‘fringe area’ and how long they stay in the forest.

He said that all these works will be done with the permission of Uttarakhand’s Chief Wildlife Warden Ranjan Kumar Mishra.

He said that after one year, conclusions will be drawn on the basis of the information collected from the study and will be sent for approval to the warden.

Badola said that this study will help the government in making such policies, which will ensure the conservation of tigers and the safety of the people living in the border areas of the forest. PTI DPT HIG