Kolkata ,March 26: The number of Royal Bengal tigers in the Sunderbans has been incre-asing, West Bengal forests minister Ananta Roy info-rmed the state Assembly Friday. He said the 2007 census put the number of tigers in the Sunderbans at 274.

Answering a question, Mr Roy said, "The number of Royal Bengal tigers is on the rise... We have started the tiger census in Sunde-rbans this year. The survey is being conducted by the state government in association with the National Tiger Conservation Autho-rity and the government of India." Mr Roy hopes the ongoing survey will prove the number of tigers stands closer to 300. "According to our reports, most tourists get to see tigers in the Sunderbans now compared to two to three years ago. Incidents of tigers straying into villages adjacent to the forest area in the Sunder-bans have also increased, which we think is proof of the increase in their population," he said.

"We are basically collecting pugmarks and excreta of tigers. The samples of excreta will be sent to the Central Zoo Authority for DNA tests to get the final figure," Mr Roy added.

Kaushik Pradhan