Bhopal, Dec 13 (IANS): Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Friday inaugurated the Ratapani Tiger Reserve in the Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh, located near the state capital Bhopal.

The inaugural event was organised over a week after the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change designated Ratapani Wildlife Sanctuary as a tiger reserve.

The event was followed by a cycle rally at Ratapani, in which several people, including Bollywood actor Randeep Hooda, participated.

With this, Madhya Pradesh now houses eight tiger reserves. The other tiger reserves are -- Kanha, Satpura, Bandhavgarh, Pench, Sanjay Dubri, Panna and Veerangana Durgavati.

This number will increase further as the Centre has also approved Madhav National Park (MNP) located in the Shivpuri district in the Gwalior-Chambal region.

"It is a matter of pride that Bhopal is the only city among all the state capitals in the country where a Tiger Reserve is located. Hearty congratulations to all the people of Bhopal for this achievement," CM Yadav said.

He further asserted that the villages within the Ratapani sanctuary have been included in the buffer area instead of the core zone to minimise inconvenience.

CM Yadav emphasised that the establishment of the tiger reserve would bring international recognition to Ratapani and Bhopal as the Tiger Capital.

"Its proximity to the capital will not only generate employment opportunities through tourism but also facilitate the effective conservation of forests, tigers, and other wildlife," CM Yadav added.

"The Ratapani Tiger Reserve has a core area of 763.812 sq km and a buffer area of 507.653 sq km. Nine villages, geographically located in the tiger reserve, are not included in the core area in the notification of the sanctuary," a statement issued by the state government said.

With the formation of the Ratapani Tiger Reserve, its entire core area is within the boundary of the Ratapani Tiger Sanctuary. This will not change the current rights of the villagers, it said.