Save Our Tigers |NDTV Updates

Funds raised during Telethon 2010 used to deploy Rapid Response Units across the country

The 50 million rupees raised during Telethon 2010 have been utilised to provide Rapid Response Units (RRU's) to equip and train Forest Departments across reserves in India to respond to any tiger emergency in and around the reserves.

What is an RRU?

It will allow up to 17 forest personnel to reach the problem/conflict area in minimal time.
It will be able to deal with tranquilizing any wild mammal that has either strayed out of the forest or is injured.
It will allow up to six forest guards to camp in remote areas for between 3-5 days without any additional support.
It will be able to mitigate man-animal conflict by instilling confidence among villagers residing around protected areas as well as boosting the morale of the rescue team of the forest department.
The RRU will equip the department to control mobs at problem sites in a far more efficient manner.
There are enough personal-safety-device on the vehicle to protect the squad from injury through encounters with wild animals and people alike.
The members of the Rapid Response Team will be able to stay connected through walkie-talkies all through the mission even if they are outside the range of the forest wireless system.
The Rapid Response Units will strengthen the anti-poaching squads of tiger reserves.
It will act as an emergency vehicle, which the villagers can summon in case of any wildlife-related problems.

The highlight of Year 1 was the Aircel-NDTV 'Save Our Tigers' Telethon

The highlight of the programming in Year 1 of the Aircel-NDTV campaign was the 12 hour long Telethon telecast on 12th December, 2010 on the NDTV Network. The telethon was an overwhelming success as thousands of people across India and several hundred people from overseas pledged their support for the tiger over the telephone, internet and television.

The event also included live reports from tiger reserves, ground-level events like art, theatre, etc. and host of celebrity performances. Amitabh Bachchan, the campaign ambassador along with Prannoy Roy and Vikram Chandra hosted the show live from Pench Tiger Reserve. During the telethon, the best minds on tiger conservation appealed to political leaders and the general public to do whatever they could to help safeguard the most charismatic cat on Earth. As a welcome result of the campaign, several prominent political leaders came on air and pledged to protect the forests of their respective states.

A sum of 19.9 million rupees was raised through donations and Hemendra Kothari, Chairman, DSP Blackrock Investment Managers Pvt. Ltd. and Chairman, Wildlife Conservation Trust, donated 25 million rupees to raise the overall donation amount to approximately 50 million rupees.

MS Dhoni, the Indian Cricket captain has pledged his support to the cause in Uttarakhand.

Read three winning entries on what can be done to conserve our tigers.

Deepa Bhatnagar – Ghaziabad
Tigers are facing extinction. It is a serious problem and we all need to look into this. We must take up the following measures: firstly, poachers must be dealt with severely, appropriate coverage of the same must be done to let people know of serious consequences - be it the inward villagers, authorities, political parties, celebrities or anyone else.
Secondly, the government must acknowledge and reward people bringing information on and around the illegal activities carried out in forest areas.
Thirdly, provision of funds must be made in association with the government and NGOs for rehabilitation of tigers, with immediate effect.

TG Ramesh - Bangalore.
Tiger tourism must be centralized. An eco-tourism corporation must be created and managed by a professional board of directors. Safaris in all the tiger reserves across the country must be conducted by this company alone. They should standardize the vehicles, set a carriage capacity, have trained locals as guides and the drivers must be employees of this corporation. There should not be any concessions for VIPs in such tiger reserves. The local forest departments must manage and protect the parks. The income earned by this corporation must be ploughed back and invested in empowering local communities engaged in conservation of the animal.

S.Krishna Kumar - Dombivali, Mumbai.
The slogan should, in fact, not only be "Save our Tigers""but also "Multiply the Population of Tigers". My suggestion is: "Save and Multiply Tigers in India".
Forest conservationists/supervisors must be appropriately armed to face the poachers and take strict actions against those found poaching and/or killing tigers. The forest officials should be suitably rewarded for preventing poaching/killing of tigers.
Poachers should be given severe punishment with no provision for bail. A rigorous imprisonment for minimum 10 years would be a deterrent. Involving and rewarding the local villagers in the vicinity of tiger parks so they may keep a watchful eye on poachers and killers is also important. Areas must be clearly demarcated for tigers to move freely – also in a manner where the poachers cannot and must not be allowed to enter.

Click here to read more entries »

Actions speak louder than words - this is how the movement is gaining momentum.

With just a handful of tigers left in the country the next few years are crucial if the national animal is to be saved from extinction and the time to act is now. Aircel & NDTV have drawn up a Tiger Agenda - urgent measures that need to be taken to address the rapidly dwindling population of our Tigers. This agenda will be taken to all the chief ministers of tiger states and they will be asked to act now on the following matters - from filling all vacancies in the forest department, to notifying buffer zones around tiger parks to taking stringent anti poaching measures. On 18th July NDTV did a signature campaign across 6 cities to garner support for this agenda. The signature campaign met with a terrific response with lakhs of people pledging their support for the cause taking our tally over 6 lakh signatures collected and counting.