Hanumakonda: Emphasising that wildlife conservation is a shared responsibility, Hanamkonda District Collector Chahat Bajpai on Wednesday urged people, particularly students, to actively contribute to protecting forests and wild animals. The Collector said tigers play a vital role in maintaining ecological balance and noted that stringent anti-poaching measures had helped improve the country’s tiger population. She expressed concern over the absence of tigers in Telangana’s Kawal Tiger Reserve despite the healthy tiger population in the neighbouring Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra. District Forest Officer Mukund Reddy stressed the need for greater public awareness to protect endangered wildlife. During the programme, the Collector unveiled wildlife conservation posters and distributed prizes to winners of essay and drawing competitions conducted for school students from the erstwhile Warangal district.