Surekha lauds wildlife safety team for creating tiger cell

Hyderabad: Telangana Forest and Environment Konda Surekha on Tuesday appreciated the Wildlife Safety team for their excellent work for creating one of its kind tiger protection cell in India.

The minister said she was very happy that Telangana had created one of its kind first Tiger Protection Cell in India. The minister said she will inform the Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy about this important achievement during Telangana Rising programme that is expected to be held on November 28 in ICCC, Hyderabad. She encouraged all forest and zoo officers and staff to continue working with full commitment for wildlife safety.

The minister explained that the Forest Department had started a new high-tech Tiger Monitoring Cell and Command Hub to protect both wildlife and people. She said the new system will help the department monitor tiger reserves in real time. The State Command Centre in Hyderabad is now connected to new regional centres in Mannanur and Mancherial.

The minister said the department will use CCTV cameras, camera traps and GPS tracking to watch tiger movements 24 hours a day. This will help the staff stop poaching and illegal entry quickly.

She also said that this new system will help protect people living near forest areas. If a tiger moves near a village, the team will get an alert immediately and it will respond in a quick manner to avoid conflict.

The minister stated that all field officers must now upload daily reports by 5.30 pm. This would help the government get correct information every day and make quick decisions. Surekha said the Forest Department was ensuring full transparency by uploading all data to the TGFMIS portal. She added that Telangana is proving that technology can greatly improve wildlife protection. The minister said this new Tiger Monitoring Cell will make forests safer, support staff on the ground, and help secure the future of wildlife in the state. Telangana PCCF Dr Suvarna, Wildlife Chief Warden Elu Singh Meru, Director Sunil and other officials were present.