SC bans tourism in tiger reserve core area

In a landmark verdict, the Supreme Court on Tuesday banned tourism activity in any of the core zones of tiger reserves across the country to save the big cats. The court also imposed fine on six states: Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Maharashtra and Jharkhand, which failed to notify the buffer zones, in their respective tiger reserves despite its earlier directions of April 04 and July 10. According to a report submitted by the Wildlife Protection Society of India, between 1994 and 2009, 893 cases of tiger killings were reported in the country.