Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala's famed tiger reserve at Periyar will soon have company, with the Parambikulam wildlife sanctuary in central Kerala being declared India's new tiger reserve.
The move is part of the federal government's decision to protect the big cat, and take the number of tiger reserves in the country to 38.
The Parambikulam sanctuary straddles the districts of Palakkad and Thrissur and is spread over 644 square kilometres in central Kerala, covering the forest divisions of Chalakkudy, Vazhachal and Nenmara.
The Periyar tiger reserve, the popular reserve in the state, had been in the news for the wrong reasons last year when a tourist boat sank in the artificial lake in the sanctuary leading to dozens of lives being lost.
Federal environment minister Jairam Ramesh who formally declared Parambikulam as a tiger reserve, said 20 million rupees (Dh1.59 million) would be allotted at the outset for the park.
There will also be a pay-out from the government to the tune of one million rupees each to the 73 families that have opted to move out to the rehabilitation facilities offered to them.
The tiger reserve, being one of the priority areas of the environment ministry, is expected to get significant funding in the coming years, according to experts.
The new tiger reserve will have an area of 391 square kilometres as its core area while the rest of the reserve will function as the buffer area.
According to reports, some of the estates in the area that were taken over by the government will continue to be under the forest department.
