Simlipal Tiger Reserve has been ravaged by naxals. We (i was accompanied by Adiya Panda) were the first to go in and witness the devastation Here is an account...
A savage attack by profiteering Naxals has almost broken the back of a major tiger
In happier times, this was the best hour of the day to be at Chahala in the heart of Simlipal Tiger Reserve in Orissa. As the fading rays of the sun filtered through the canopy, animals would gather at the salt lick for their daily dose of minerals. Cheetal, sambar, elephants. Predators followed prey, the occasional leopard, and just a few days back—the royal Bengal tiger had made its rare appearance.
There is nothing here now, no sign of life. The silence is eerie, not a reflection of the peace that is a blessing of the forest. I take in the devastation: The range office has been reduced to cinders, the wireless system smashed, files and wildlife monitoring registers burnt to ash, motorcycles burnt, the rest house furniture, toilets have been demolished.
It couldn’t get worse. It does.
The bark of a dog shatters the deathly stillness—and we follow the sound to catch a party of hunters armed with bows and arrows, spears and charra, the local gun. We give them the chase but they are just too fast, and too familiar with the forest.
Our worst fear has been proved true—with Simlipal virtually abandoned, poachers are having a field day at the reserve.
I had gone to Simlipal following the news that naxals had struck the tiger reserve at 8.30 pm on March 28, 2009. The attack continued through the night, and a week thereafter. The first strike was a masterstroke: The main VHF tower at Meghasani, Similipal’s highest peak was destroyed, effectively cutting off communication. Forest chowkis, vehicles, rest houses were ransacked and burnt, rangers and forest guards were tied and beaten, as were the tourists. Posters demanding the “death of Project Tiger” and threats to burn the forest were put up. The attacks were across the 3,000sq km reserve, though concentrated at its most vulnerable points—Chahala, Upper Barhakamuda, Devasthali, Gudgudiya, Patbil, Jenabil, Joranda—all in the critical core area where virtually all wildlife is concentrated.
The forest department fled the field. “We were told not to come back to our posts, else we would be killed,” says Narhari Naik, a forest guard and witness to the carnage. Obviously, none of the forest staff has dared return, and there are just two units of the Special Operation Group that stand guard at two posts inside, most of the park—specifically the core lies unattended. Simlipal, one of our largest and finest tiger reserves, is open for loot.
“At your own risk,” I am warned, when I put forth to the proposal of going inside to the authorities. There may still be some movement of naxals, there could be landmines—they didn’t know. I cover some vital areas—Nawana, skirt Joranda, remove trees that block our way to Gudgudia from Chahala, and though we try to make our way to Upper Barhakamuda, information is the bridge has been blown up.
The scheme of events, the damage, and talking with locals, officials and the police shows a clear pattern. The motive is clear—the carnage was aimed to break the back of forest administration and thereby ‘free’ the forest of any control whatsoever. The timing of the attack is suspicious too, on the eve of the akhand shikar—a month-long annual ritual of the local tribals who go on a mass hunting spree armed with indigenous weaponry, killing everything in sight. And on the eve of elections when the concentration of the police is solely on election duty. Forces for other any other purpose—however vital—are simply unavailable. The field is clear now. Not just for akhand shikar—but for poachers who have been targeting Simlipal constantly over the years. Forest officials admit there has been “serious loss” in tiger numbers, and no less than eight to 10 tuskers are killed every year.
The attack had local support, say police officials. And it served a dual purpose—by clearing the ground for akhand shikar it sent a clear message to the locals that the naxals were with them, thus paving the way to establish themselves in Simlipal. “Most activities of the forest-dwellers were anti-conservation—be it ritual hunting, tree-felling etc. thus nurturing a hostility vis-a-vis the forest department, the naxals have exploited and used it to their purpose,” points out a police official. Worryingly, it also leaves the field clear for the illegal trade of timber and sal patta trade. Its big business running into crores—“which will help finance naxal activity, as has been witnessed in other extremist-ridden areas.” Naxals sheltering in forests, and deriving their finances from trading in forest produce and to a certain extent wildlife derivatives like ivory, rhino horn tiger skins etc is a pan-Indian phenomenon, according to intelligence sources.
I talk to the local villagers. They are reluctant, almost hostile, when questioned. Most assert that they are fine with the forest department and wash their hands of the current mayhem. “I was fast asleep, after a good drink of hadiya,” says Mata Alda of Lanjhaghesra village near Gudgudia—though say police sources this was the same village that had held a huge meeting barely a month back basically as a show of strength against the forest department. It is suspected that naxal elements were also present.
The current siege is however just the latest blow to a problem-ridden Simlipal—the final straw that will destroy the park—unless we act now. The attack was a result of a meticulous plan, indicating naxal presence in the park for a considerable period, though their presence went unnoticed, a tragic failure on the part of the forest department. Forest officials express their helplessness—Nagaraja Reddy, the Simlipal director, says they are understaffed, and unequipped. At present to man the entire reserve, there are barely 40 guards-most nearing retiring age. “We had no choice but to surrender,” says a forest official.
Have we “surrendered” Simlipal, and our national animal? As things stand now, yes And as naxals within the state enjoy a covert political patronage it seems they are here to stay—in the forests, now sanctuary to naxals—not to tigers.
BOX:
SAVE SIMLIPAL:
Immediately deploy para-military forces
In the long run prepare a dedicated Wildlife Protection Force along the lines of para-military forces.
Equip and train forest department. Fill staff shortage
Villages within the reserve especially the core are to be rehabilitated.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
Terai I: Rajaji National Park
Young Rajaji Park tigress waiting for mate for four long years
Rajaji National Park
The Shivalik-Gangetic plain or the Terai Arc landscape stretches from Kalesar Wildlife Sanctuary in Haryana to Valmiki in Bihar… and beyond to Chitwan and Parsa in Nepal. Its 20,800 sq km (on the Indian side) comprises a network of protected areas, ie Kalesar, Rajaji, Corbett, Dudhwa, Suhelwa and Valmiki, connected in part by vital wildlife corridors and otherwise fragmented and surrounded by agriculture, and the press of the densest human population in the world. This landscape has been identified as a critical tiger habitat vital to the long-term survival of the Royal Bengal Tiger. Here rests the last hope for the tiger. Prerna Singh Bindra travels through the Terai - the land of the tiger, ridden with pressures, threats, conflicts…and hope.
I could hear her call, consistently, through the night. She is a tigress in her prime, calling for a mate…but to no avail, there is no answering call. “The ‘Dholkhand’ tigress has lived a lonely existence for the past four years. With me is Negiji, a forest guard, who has the duty of keeping track of the tigress. He bears the burden of worry, as any guardian would, “She needs a mate, else she will die unmarried,” he mourns. His worry is not unfounded, for it has grave connotations, in a sense the lonely tigress is symbolic of the fate of the tiger in this forest. With her will die the critically endangered Panthera tigris in this part of the world, which is the north-westerly limit of the range of the tiger. There are no males here, in the western side of the Rajaji National Park that had recorded eight different tigers between 2000 and 2003. Yet, all is not lost, there is still hope. There are tigers on the eastern side of the park, two males in their prime who could serve our lonely tigress well — except that both these sectors have been bisected by various development projects and human habitation, rendering it virtually impossible for tigers, and other wild animals like elephants, to cross over. Though subject to many pressures, primarily a burgeoning human population, the western part of the park connects with Kalesar sanctuary in Haryana and is a 1,800 sq km of good tiger habitat with the potential to hold no less than 60 tigers. However, last heard, it housed just the one. With no link to any ‘source’ population of tigers, ie, a substantial breeding population in a good, inviolate habitat, the area is virtually empty of tigers.
Rajaji forms the fag end of the Terai Arc landscape, which has been identified as a critical tiger habitat, crucial to the future survival of the tiger. The Terai (‘lowlands’ for Sanskrit), frames a grand, if utopian conservation dream, of a network of contiguous forests and wildlife corridors along the landscape, stemming from the scientifically established fact that tigers and other large mammals cannot survive in isolated islands.
The first critical link in the Terai landscape is the Chilla-Motichur corridor which forms the only connect between the two parts of Rajaji. This, however, is all but eroded by the developmental onslaught that began in the late 60s, with the establishment of the raiwala ammunition dump followed by rehabilitation of evacuees from Tehri dam in the Khandgaon settlements. A 13-km-long Chilla power channel cuts through the park, as does a railway line and a national highway, both heavily trafficked since this connects Delhi to the State capital Dehradun. There is an antibiotic factory, besides an array of ashrams, thanks to the proximity of the holy cities of Hardwar and Rishikesh that all but jut into the park.
The eastern side of the park has a population of about eight tigers, including breeding females. Chilla in Eastern Rajaji has gradually been made free of human habitat, and combined with the connectivity to Corbett Tiger Reserve, has ensured a remarkable recovery of tigers.
“Importantly”, points out A Christy Williams, Coordinator of WWF’s Asian elephant and rhino conservation programme. “The Chilla-Motichur corridor is also critical for the long term survival for elephants. Young males need to disperse from their natal ranges if they are to breed successfully, and for genetic variability.
“However, the bottleneck at Chilla-Motichur has divided and fragmented the habitat-rendering free movement of wildlife impossible. Such fragmentation will only lead to the extinction of free ranging species, such as tigers and elephants in the long run. If they are to survive here in the future, it is vital to restore this fragile link,” says Bivash
Pandav, Coordinator Tiger & Asian Big Cats, WWF International.
One way to maintain connectivity of the Chilla-Motichur corridor, especially in the face of an expected increase in rail-traffic, is to widen the two existing underpass, under the railway tracks cutting through the park. This will ensure a safe passage for tigers, leopards and elephants. Unfortunately, the issue is currently the subject of a heated debate, and is before the Supreme Court. The other upcoming threat is the plan to convert the road into a six-lane highway, to counter which, a flyover has been proposed.
“The underpass and the flyover are workable solutions,” stresses AJT Johnsingh, former Dean of Wildlife Institute of India. “If we can ensure the Chilla-Motichur link, and ease it off human pressures like grazing, feulwood, lopping, encroachments, we will have about 6000 sq km of potential tiger habitat from Kalesar in Haryana through western and eastern Rajaji to Corbett and a bit beyond till the Goula tiver near Haldwani.”
Efforts are also on to remove the other bottlenecks in the corridor. Director of Rajaji SS Rasaily informs that the rehabilitation of Khadgaon has been initiated and the Army has, in principle, agreed to shift the camp from Raiwala. Reportedly, the matter is stuck at getting clearances for the alternate site.
Can we do it? Grant the wild animals safe passage, and a secure haven…and the lone tigress of western Rajaji a mate? Or, will she be the last link of this majestic beast in this part of the world…yet another local extinction, much like Sariska.
Solutions
Establishing the Chilla-Motichur corridor is priority. The Raiwala Army Ammunition camp and Khadgaon village must be shifted on a priority basis.
Widen the underpass under the railway track to facilitate elephant and tiger movement. At the same time, says Srikant Chandola, Chief Wildlife Warden Uttarakhand, a flyover must be built over the corridor to ensure that increased vehicular traffic from the proposed six-lane highway does not cut off the movement of wildlife across this critical bottleneck
Include Hardwar Forest Division within the management of Rajaji, to help reduce conflict and strengthen connectivity. Remove the illegal ashrams that have encroached on corridors, and forests around Rajaji. All of the above is also essential if we are to reduce man-animal conflict which is increasing by the day.
Rajaji National Park
The Shivalik-Gangetic plain or the Terai Arc landscape stretches from Kalesar Wildlife Sanctuary in Haryana to Valmiki in Bihar… and beyond to Chitwan and Parsa in Nepal. Its 20,800 sq km (on the Indian side) comprises a network of protected areas, ie Kalesar, Rajaji, Corbett, Dudhwa, Suhelwa and Valmiki, connected in part by vital wildlife corridors and otherwise fragmented and surrounded by agriculture, and the press of the densest human population in the world. This landscape has been identified as a critical tiger habitat vital to the long-term survival of the Royal Bengal Tiger. Here rests the last hope for the tiger. Prerna Singh Bindra travels through the Terai - the land of the tiger, ridden with pressures, threats, conflicts…and hope.
I could hear her call, consistently, through the night. She is a tigress in her prime, calling for a mate…but to no avail, there is no answering call. “The ‘Dholkhand’ tigress has lived a lonely existence for the past four years. With me is Negiji, a forest guard, who has the duty of keeping track of the tigress. He bears the burden of worry, as any guardian would, “She needs a mate, else she will die unmarried,” he mourns. His worry is not unfounded, for it has grave connotations, in a sense the lonely tigress is symbolic of the fate of the tiger in this forest. With her will die the critically endangered Panthera tigris in this part of the world, which is the north-westerly limit of the range of the tiger. There are no males here, in the western side of the Rajaji National Park that had recorded eight different tigers between 2000 and 2003. Yet, all is not lost, there is still hope. There are tigers on the eastern side of the park, two males in their prime who could serve our lonely tigress well — except that both these sectors have been bisected by various development projects and human habitation, rendering it virtually impossible for tigers, and other wild animals like elephants, to cross over. Though subject to many pressures, primarily a burgeoning human population, the western part of the park connects with Kalesar sanctuary in Haryana and is a 1,800 sq km of good tiger habitat with the potential to hold no less than 60 tigers. However, last heard, it housed just the one. With no link to any ‘source’ population of tigers, ie, a substantial breeding population in a good, inviolate habitat, the area is virtually empty of tigers.
Rajaji forms the fag end of the Terai Arc landscape, which has been identified as a critical tiger habitat, crucial to the future survival of the tiger. The Terai (‘lowlands’ for Sanskrit), frames a grand, if utopian conservation dream, of a network of contiguous forests and wildlife corridors along the landscape, stemming from the scientifically established fact that tigers and other large mammals cannot survive in isolated islands.
The first critical link in the Terai landscape is the Chilla-Motichur corridor which forms the only connect between the two parts of Rajaji. This, however, is all but eroded by the developmental onslaught that began in the late 60s, with the establishment of the raiwala ammunition dump followed by rehabilitation of evacuees from Tehri dam in the Khandgaon settlements. A 13-km-long Chilla power channel cuts through the park, as does a railway line and a national highway, both heavily trafficked since this connects Delhi to the State capital Dehradun. There is an antibiotic factory, besides an array of ashrams, thanks to the proximity of the holy cities of Hardwar and Rishikesh that all but jut into the park.
The eastern side of the park has a population of about eight tigers, including breeding females. Chilla in Eastern Rajaji has gradually been made free of human habitat, and combined with the connectivity to Corbett Tiger Reserve, has ensured a remarkable recovery of tigers.
“Importantly”, points out A Christy Williams, Coordinator of WWF’s Asian elephant and rhino conservation programme. “The Chilla-Motichur corridor is also critical for the long term survival for elephants. Young males need to disperse from their natal ranges if they are to breed successfully, and for genetic variability.
“However, the bottleneck at Chilla-Motichur has divided and fragmented the habitat-rendering free movement of wildlife impossible. Such fragmentation will only lead to the extinction of free ranging species, such as tigers and elephants in the long run. If they are to survive here in the future, it is vital to restore this fragile link,” says Bivash
Pandav, Coordinator Tiger & Asian Big Cats, WWF International.
One way to maintain connectivity of the Chilla-Motichur corridor, especially in the face of an expected increase in rail-traffic, is to widen the two existing underpass, under the railway tracks cutting through the park. This will ensure a safe passage for tigers, leopards and elephants. Unfortunately, the issue is currently the subject of a heated debate, and is before the Supreme Court. The other upcoming threat is the plan to convert the road into a six-lane highway, to counter which, a flyover has been proposed.
“The underpass and the flyover are workable solutions,” stresses AJT Johnsingh, former Dean of Wildlife Institute of India. “If we can ensure the Chilla-Motichur link, and ease it off human pressures like grazing, feulwood, lopping, encroachments, we will have about 6000 sq km of potential tiger habitat from Kalesar in Haryana through western and eastern Rajaji to Corbett and a bit beyond till the Goula tiver near Haldwani.”
Efforts are also on to remove the other bottlenecks in the corridor. Director of Rajaji SS Rasaily informs that the rehabilitation of Khadgaon has been initiated and the Army has, in principle, agreed to shift the camp from Raiwala. Reportedly, the matter is stuck at getting clearances for the alternate site.
Can we do it? Grant the wild animals safe passage, and a secure haven…and the lone tigress of western Rajaji a mate? Or, will she be the last link of this majestic beast in this part of the world…yet another local extinction, much like Sariska.
Solutions
Establishing the Chilla-Motichur corridor is priority. The Raiwala Army Ammunition camp and Khadgaon village must be shifted on a priority basis.
Widen the underpass under the railway track to facilitate elephant and tiger movement. At the same time, says Srikant Chandola, Chief Wildlife Warden Uttarakhand, a flyover must be built over the corridor to ensure that increased vehicular traffic from the proposed six-lane highway does not cut off the movement of wildlife across this critical bottleneck
Include Hardwar Forest Division within the management of Rajaji, to help reduce conflict and strengthen connectivity. Remove the illegal ashrams that have encroached on corridors, and forests around Rajaji. All of the above is also essential if we are to reduce man-animal conflict which is increasing by the day.
Terai II: Rajaji: Relocation
Ghaindikatha, Rajaji National Park, Uttarakhand: They call it their second life. And it is, in many ways. “The old ways are gone,” muses 55-year-old Mohammed Yusuf Haji, not without a hint of nostalgia. But he wouldn’t go back to it--or to the dera they lived in, in Chilla, Rajaji National Park. It was difficult, living in the heart of the forest. Fear was a constant companion, and they lacked even the basic amenities. Many lost their own, before they could avail of medical facilities in the nearest town. “We couldn’t venture out at night, whatever be the compulsion, haathi ka dar tha. There was no electricity, roads were washed away by the rains,” says Smita Gujjar. And there were no schools, no hope for a brighter future. Md Yusuf smiles down at his granddaughter, Nazia, a student of Class I. “I can afford to dream now…she will become a doctor or a teacher. There are two schools here in Ghaindikatha, with about 600 children enrolled,” he adds. The gujjars lived in an exploitative barter economy, exchanging their prized milk for necessities like foodgrain, oil, and even cloth and shoes supplied to them by the seth, who had the milk collected. Now, that they are part of the mainstream and their village just off the main highway they command the market price for their milk, and in fact handle the dairy business themselves ensuring a good turnover. When they were shifted out of Chilla, the government also gave them land, two acres per family—which produces two crops in a year. But what matters most is the sense of identity. “We have an address now, jungle mein hum gumnaam the—with no entity. Now, the postman delivers my letters to Babu Mohammed, Ghaindikatha,” says Babu Mohammed. The fact that they now live collectively, unlike the scattered manner in the forest has made them a 4000-strong political base that the politicians woo, “especially now as election fever is on,” says Babu Mohammed. “We have come a long way,” he adds.
The Gujjars, essentially a nomadic tribe, came to the Shivalik hills nearly 200 years ago as part of the dowry of a princess from Himachal Pradesh. Over the years, they settled here, and by the year 2000, Rajaji had a population of some 6,000 gujjars, with their 15,000 odd cattle, making for immense biotic pressure: Cattle had trampled and ruined the grasslands, the nullah running through Chilla had been reduced to a toxic trickle making it unfit for elephants and ungulates, and the gujjars lopped trees to feed their livestock. With such intense disturbance, wildlife had all but disappeared. Pugmarks, and other such signs of the tiger was very rare. An extensive survey on the eastern bank, which has the Chilla range, had yielded not a single pugmark in January 2003. The writing was on the wall: tigers were declining, fast..and their future, if at all, looked bleak.
Then, in an exercise that lasted over an year, 193 Gujjar families from Chilla were resettled in Ghaindikatha in February 2003, and the forest in Chilla got another lease of life. To understand the impact on the forest after the removal of human and livestock pressure, a study was initiated by Wildlife Institute of India to scientifically monitor vegetation, ungulates and tiger recovery. The findings were heartening. The forest regenerated, grasslands grew back, the prey base returned, and predators followed the prey. Tigers are back in Chilla. On January 6, 2005, barely two years after Chilla had been made free of human pressures the camera captured a picture of a lactating tigress. Tigers were breeding in Chilla sending a strong signal of a healthy eco-system. It may be pertinent to note that the last evidence of breeding was some 18-years-ago when a three-month old dying cub was brought to WII from Chilla. Currently, there are reported to be eight tigers in Chilla, with three cubs.
Here is a strong message, for the messiahs of co-existence, who create laws and shape faulty policies that propagate the myth that tigers and people can live happily together. Wish they could see the rehabilitated gujjars in Ghaindikatha, and the rejuvenation of wildlife at Chilla. This is a win-win situation—sensitive rehabilitation of forest dwellers from within critical tiger habitats—that must be replicated all along the Protected Areas of the Terai Arc Landscape, i.e Dudhwa, Katarniaghat, Valmiki; and indeed tiger reserves across the country. Dr Y.V Jhala who co-authored the recent All India survey of tigers and co-predators points out that the study scientifically proved that tigers need undisturbed , inviolate spaces to survive.
Here was living proof of the same.
However, Chilla could not have seen this miraculous recovery without its tenuous connectivity with Corbett Tiger Reserve through the Landsdowne Forest division. Experts believe that tigers may have migrated to Chilla from the buffer zones of Corbett, after the Gujjars were relocated, which only serves to emphasise the significance of conservation of these connecting corridors. Similarly, these narrow forest corridors are also vital migratory paths for male elephants to disperse. A female led group uses these ancient migratory paths especially during times of stress, for plenty of water and food. If such access is blocked, it can only lead to bitter conflicts, with fatalities to both man and elephant.
The Solutions
• 878 families of the total of 1,390 have shifted out of Rajaji, and rehabilitation of the remaining needs to be taken up on a priority basis.
• The Chilla-Gohri range is contagious to Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR) through Landsdown forest division—the corridor needs to be strengthened, and brought under the management of CTR—the proposal for which is pending with the Uttarakhand government
The Gujjars, essentially a nomadic tribe, came to the Shivalik hills nearly 200 years ago as part of the dowry of a princess from Himachal Pradesh. Over the years, they settled here, and by the year 2000, Rajaji had a population of some 6,000 gujjars, with their 15,000 odd cattle, making for immense biotic pressure: Cattle had trampled and ruined the grasslands, the nullah running through Chilla had been reduced to a toxic trickle making it unfit for elephants and ungulates, and the gujjars lopped trees to feed their livestock. With such intense disturbance, wildlife had all but disappeared. Pugmarks, and other such signs of the tiger was very rare. An extensive survey on the eastern bank, which has the Chilla range, had yielded not a single pugmark in January 2003. The writing was on the wall: tigers were declining, fast..and their future, if at all, looked bleak.
Then, in an exercise that lasted over an year, 193 Gujjar families from Chilla were resettled in Ghaindikatha in February 2003, and the forest in Chilla got another lease of life. To understand the impact on the forest after the removal of human and livestock pressure, a study was initiated by Wildlife Institute of India to scientifically monitor vegetation, ungulates and tiger recovery. The findings were heartening. The forest regenerated, grasslands grew back, the prey base returned, and predators followed the prey. Tigers are back in Chilla. On January 6, 2005, barely two years after Chilla had been made free of human pressures the camera captured a picture of a lactating tigress. Tigers were breeding in Chilla sending a strong signal of a healthy eco-system. It may be pertinent to note that the last evidence of breeding was some 18-years-ago when a three-month old dying cub was brought to WII from Chilla. Currently, there are reported to be eight tigers in Chilla, with three cubs.
Here is a strong message, for the messiahs of co-existence, who create laws and shape faulty policies that propagate the myth that tigers and people can live happily together. Wish they could see the rehabilitated gujjars in Ghaindikatha, and the rejuvenation of wildlife at Chilla. This is a win-win situation—sensitive rehabilitation of forest dwellers from within critical tiger habitats—that must be replicated all along the Protected Areas of the Terai Arc Landscape, i.e Dudhwa, Katarniaghat, Valmiki; and indeed tiger reserves across the country. Dr Y.V Jhala who co-authored the recent All India survey of tigers and co-predators points out that the study scientifically proved that tigers need undisturbed , inviolate spaces to survive.
Here was living proof of the same.
However, Chilla could not have seen this miraculous recovery without its tenuous connectivity with Corbett Tiger Reserve through the Landsdowne Forest division. Experts believe that tigers may have migrated to Chilla from the buffer zones of Corbett, after the Gujjars were relocated, which only serves to emphasise the significance of conservation of these connecting corridors. Similarly, these narrow forest corridors are also vital migratory paths for male elephants to disperse. A female led group uses these ancient migratory paths especially during times of stress, for plenty of water and food. If such access is blocked, it can only lead to bitter conflicts, with fatalities to both man and elephant.
The Solutions
• 878 families of the total of 1,390 have shifted out of Rajaji, and rehabilitation of the remaining needs to be taken up on a priority basis.
• The Chilla-Gohri range is contagious to Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR) through Landsdown forest division—the corridor needs to be strengthened, and brought under the management of CTR—the proposal for which is pending with the Uttarakhand government
Terai III: Corbett
Wayward tourists hit heart of tiger country
Prerna Singh Bindra | Corbett Tiger Reserve
If you were to liken the Terai to a human body, Corbett would be the heart, the lifeline, if you like — the part or ‘the source population’ that supports and keeps alive the adjacent forests, and to an extent even protected areas like Rajaji.
It’s amongst our oldest tiger reserves, with the highest density of tigers in India — almost 20 per 100 sq km, with 164 tigers as indicated by the recent all India survey of tigers and co-predators. Tigers are usually an easy sight, and ‘the land of trumpet and roar’ keeps its promises.
For how long, though? There is trouble brewing in paradise, and sadly, the decay of India’s finest park has begun. There are many issues that plague the park, but of utmost concern would be the increasing laxity in protection, and secondly, mismanaged wayward tourism.
I arrive just days after a tiger had been declared a man-eater, for killing a woman who entered the reserve. The woman’s body was intact, not eaten by the tiger, raising questions whether he was a man-eater at all or if it was an accidental killing, but that’s another story; and the tiger — a male in his prime, was tranquilised, trapped (on Feb 11) and is now serving time at the Nainital zoo.
Bad enough but worse is that one of the precipitating factors in his sorry fate was the fact that he was baited to entertain cat-obsessed tourists. According to reliable sources, the baiting was done by some resorts that operate elephant safaris and charge top dollar from their clients for a ‘guaranteed’ tiger sighting.
The tiger had marked Garajia, part of the buffer zone of the reserve as his territory, just across the road from Dhikuli, where most of the tourist resorts are concentrated. Elephant safaris are allowed here in Garajia, and to ensure a tiger sighting, resorts reportedly put dead bait (a live one would make too much noise, and draw attention) to lure the tiger - as they franticly ferried the tourists — eight to 10 safaris in a day for the stage-managed tiger show.
Reliable sources affirm that some resorts are also known to throw huge amounts of meat in their backyard, to attract the big cats - who frequent this path from Corbett upto the Kosi river. It is what you would call a well-kept secret. Everyone talks about it, the villagers, the foresters, the guides, the issue was even raised at a meeting of tour operators held late February, but no one is willing to go on record.
When I try to delve deeper, I am warned off - one such person who ‘asked too many questions’ was beaten up.
And no, he doesn’t want to be named either, says he ‘has suffered enough, and is better out of it.’ Baiting, and the consequent increasing interface with humans familiarises the tigers with humans, and they lose their instinctive fear of man. This changing interface could lead to unnatural behavior - like killing a human, who isn’t part of its natural diet.
Vinod Singhal, director of Corbett, doesn’t rule out baiting. “It’s possible, and we are investigating the matter,” says Singhal talking to The Pioneer. “And meanwhile we have put a stop to the elephant safaris.” Another major worry is that the onslaught of resorts - 60 and counting - is blocking a vital corridor that connects CTR to the Ramnagar Forest Division.
The other vital bottleneck in this corridor is the Sundarkhal encroachment between Garajia and Dhangadi gate -- which has long been patronised by politicians and powerful business interests who are pressing for legalising this encroachment. If so, it will only serve to accentuate conflicts, and tragedies like these, as the press of human population and the slew of resorts increases.
While the guardians of the forest are voluble in their critique of tourism, they - both Singhal and Chief Wildlife Warden Shrikant Chandola -- vehemently deny that poaching is a threat, ‘not in Corbett.’ But in the secrecy of closed doors at a meeting of senior forest officials last week, the unpalatable truth was out - tigers, leopards and elephants of not just Corbett but all of Uttarakhand were at their most vulnerable, poaching was at its peak.
News has just come in that a tiger - the second within a week - was found dead on March 17 in Dhela range in the Kalagarh Forest Division, and while the cause of death is suspected as and sources suggest that it could be a case of possible poaching, the department dismisses the death as ‘natural’ saying that it was killed by a male tiger. Both these deaths took place in the southern part of the reserve, adjoining the Bijnor district, which is ‘a problem area.’
On December 31, 2008, the putrefying dead body of a tusker was found buried in an agricultural field on the southern periphery of the reserve. “In the past eight-nine months,” informs a senior official, “we have lost one or two elephants a month on an average, and the number of tiger deaths are unnaturally high, and need to be looked into. Most cases are passed off as natural. That’s simply not true - we are also losing our animals to revenge killings by villagers and poaching. We need to address the issue, not hide it.” The problem may not lie so much within the reserve, but the buffer and the forests around are especially vulnerable, and the cancer will soon spread within Corbett, unless steps are not taken urgently.
Yet… even the basics are missing. A senior official informs that daily wagers have not been paid for the past nine months - why would they be motivated to protect? Little wonder then, that a tiger skin and bones were recovered from Ramnagar in January, reportedly ‘sourced’ from the periphery of Corbett. Four kilos of tusk were recovered buried near the Dhangadi gate on March 2, a poacher, with linkages to wildlife criminal Sansar Chand was caught in the reserve last year, while another confessed to killing a tiger in Ramnagar forest division, adjacent to Corbett.
NTCA Member Secretary Rajesh Gopal says he has repeatedly urged the State for a Tiger Conservation Plan for the core and buffer zones of the reserve but to no avail. There have also been repeated reminders to strengthen the protection of Corbett and surrounding forest divisions.
The good news is that Corbett continues to be a safe, productive haven for tigers and elephants but not for long if we continue to ignore the warning signals and allow the rot to sink in.
Solutions
Tighten protection. Induct young motivated staff. Equip current staff
Include Lansdowne, West Terai and Ramnagar Forest Division into the management of Corbett. Proposal pending with State Government
Protection must be strengthened in Bijnore Forest division in UP, which borders southern Corbett, and is most sensitive to poaching. This must also be under the management of Corbett. Though the Centre has long pressed the UP Government for the same, the State, however, has not bothered
Shift priority from tourism to conservation
Prerna Singh Bindra | Corbett Tiger Reserve
If you were to liken the Terai to a human body, Corbett would be the heart, the lifeline, if you like — the part or ‘the source population’ that supports and keeps alive the adjacent forests, and to an extent even protected areas like Rajaji.
It’s amongst our oldest tiger reserves, with the highest density of tigers in India — almost 20 per 100 sq km, with 164 tigers as indicated by the recent all India survey of tigers and co-predators. Tigers are usually an easy sight, and ‘the land of trumpet and roar’ keeps its promises.
For how long, though? There is trouble brewing in paradise, and sadly, the decay of India’s finest park has begun. There are many issues that plague the park, but of utmost concern would be the increasing laxity in protection, and secondly, mismanaged wayward tourism.
I arrive just days after a tiger had been declared a man-eater, for killing a woman who entered the reserve. The woman’s body was intact, not eaten by the tiger, raising questions whether he was a man-eater at all or if it was an accidental killing, but that’s another story; and the tiger — a male in his prime, was tranquilised, trapped (on Feb 11) and is now serving time at the Nainital zoo.
Bad enough but worse is that one of the precipitating factors in his sorry fate was the fact that he was baited to entertain cat-obsessed tourists. According to reliable sources, the baiting was done by some resorts that operate elephant safaris and charge top dollar from their clients for a ‘guaranteed’ tiger sighting.
The tiger had marked Garajia, part of the buffer zone of the reserve as his territory, just across the road from Dhikuli, where most of the tourist resorts are concentrated. Elephant safaris are allowed here in Garajia, and to ensure a tiger sighting, resorts reportedly put dead bait (a live one would make too much noise, and draw attention) to lure the tiger - as they franticly ferried the tourists — eight to 10 safaris in a day for the stage-managed tiger show.
Reliable sources affirm that some resorts are also known to throw huge amounts of meat in their backyard, to attract the big cats - who frequent this path from Corbett upto the Kosi river. It is what you would call a well-kept secret. Everyone talks about it, the villagers, the foresters, the guides, the issue was even raised at a meeting of tour operators held late February, but no one is willing to go on record.
When I try to delve deeper, I am warned off - one such person who ‘asked too many questions’ was beaten up.
And no, he doesn’t want to be named either, says he ‘has suffered enough, and is better out of it.’ Baiting, and the consequent increasing interface with humans familiarises the tigers with humans, and they lose their instinctive fear of man. This changing interface could lead to unnatural behavior - like killing a human, who isn’t part of its natural diet.
Vinod Singhal, director of Corbett, doesn’t rule out baiting. “It’s possible, and we are investigating the matter,” says Singhal talking to The Pioneer. “And meanwhile we have put a stop to the elephant safaris.” Another major worry is that the onslaught of resorts - 60 and counting - is blocking a vital corridor that connects CTR to the Ramnagar Forest Division.
The other vital bottleneck in this corridor is the Sundarkhal encroachment between Garajia and Dhangadi gate -- which has long been patronised by politicians and powerful business interests who are pressing for legalising this encroachment. If so, it will only serve to accentuate conflicts, and tragedies like these, as the press of human population and the slew of resorts increases.
While the guardians of the forest are voluble in their critique of tourism, they - both Singhal and Chief Wildlife Warden Shrikant Chandola -- vehemently deny that poaching is a threat, ‘not in Corbett.’ But in the secrecy of closed doors at a meeting of senior forest officials last week, the unpalatable truth was out - tigers, leopards and elephants of not just Corbett but all of Uttarakhand were at their most vulnerable, poaching was at its peak.
News has just come in that a tiger - the second within a week - was found dead on March 17 in Dhela range in the Kalagarh Forest Division, and while the cause of death is suspected as and sources suggest that it could be a case of possible poaching, the department dismisses the death as ‘natural’ saying that it was killed by a male tiger. Both these deaths took place in the southern part of the reserve, adjoining the Bijnor district, which is ‘a problem area.’
On December 31, 2008, the putrefying dead body of a tusker was found buried in an agricultural field on the southern periphery of the reserve. “In the past eight-nine months,” informs a senior official, “we have lost one or two elephants a month on an average, and the number of tiger deaths are unnaturally high, and need to be looked into. Most cases are passed off as natural. That’s simply not true - we are also losing our animals to revenge killings by villagers and poaching. We need to address the issue, not hide it.” The problem may not lie so much within the reserve, but the buffer and the forests around are especially vulnerable, and the cancer will soon spread within Corbett, unless steps are not taken urgently.
Yet… even the basics are missing. A senior official informs that daily wagers have not been paid for the past nine months - why would they be motivated to protect? Little wonder then, that a tiger skin and bones were recovered from Ramnagar in January, reportedly ‘sourced’ from the periphery of Corbett. Four kilos of tusk were recovered buried near the Dhangadi gate on March 2, a poacher, with linkages to wildlife criminal Sansar Chand was caught in the reserve last year, while another confessed to killing a tiger in Ramnagar forest division, adjacent to Corbett.
NTCA Member Secretary Rajesh Gopal says he has repeatedly urged the State for a Tiger Conservation Plan for the core and buffer zones of the reserve but to no avail. There have also been repeated reminders to strengthen the protection of Corbett and surrounding forest divisions.
The good news is that Corbett continues to be a safe, productive haven for tigers and elephants but not for long if we continue to ignore the warning signals and allow the rot to sink in.
Solutions
Tighten protection. Induct young motivated staff. Equip current staff
Include Lansdowne, West Terai and Ramnagar Forest Division into the management of Corbett. Proposal pending with State Government
Protection must be strengthened in Bijnore Forest division in UP, which borders southern Corbett, and is most sensitive to poaching. This must also be under the management of Corbett. Though the Centre has long pressed the UP Government for the same, the State, however, has not bothered
Shift priority from tourism to conservation
Terai IV: Pilibhit, Dudhwa, Kishanpur
Pilibhit Forest Division & Dudhwa Tiger Reserve: Fragmented tracts of forests rich with megafauna like tigers, leopards, elephants and rhinos living cheek by jowl, or should we say amidst, the densest population in the world i.e. about 783 people per sq km—that’s what the Terai is. Pressed, surrounded and bisected by agriculture, human habitation, development and infrastructural projects all through. Little wonder then that the region is reeling under severe man-animal conflict, starting from Rajaji—where elephants their ancient migratory paths obliterated, and taken over by human habitation are brutally killed by man- for instance, last year no less than a 100 bullets were pumped into the body of an elephant that ventured into the fields. ‘Straying’ elephants suffer the same fate around Corbett. I pass through Bilahar in North Kheri, where they beat and burnt a leopard to death. But my ground zero is Pilibhit Forest Division and Kishanpur, part of Dudhwa Tiger Reserve--though only with a precarious connect.
It is not my first halt; yet in many ways, the journey begins here, this is where the idea of traversing the Terai landscape took root, beginning with the tragedy of Barabanki-Faizabad tigress. She was killed as a ‘maneater’, and is believed to have originated from Pilibhit—which is one of the most conflict prone areas in the Terai. These were historically rich tigerlands, but during partition and onwards, huge tracts of grasslands and forests were cleared to make way for agriculture, chiefly sugarcane. Consequently, the region has historically been conflict prone.
Let’s look at the situation now. In the year 2004, 12 people were killed by tigers in the Pilibhit Forest Division. The mortalities dipped a bit since then, but early this year, the situation took on the tones of a tragic-drama with three ‘problem’ tigers on the prowl. The Barabanki-Faizabad, tigress met a grisly end from the hunter’s gun, the Kishanpur tiger which killed four people was tranquilised, and packed off to the Lucknow zoo, while the third, luckier than the others, has been driven back into the forest.
Why is the region so plagued by conflict-with man and tiger thrown into a bitter battle?
Part of the answer lies in the Bhira bazaar, and reportedly, other such haats across the region. Bhira is a village bordering Kishanpur. It’s a small bazaar, but it sells a precious, if ill-gotten, commodity-venison. It’s cheap, about Rs 100 a kilo-and serves a varied palette—there is sambhar, cheetal, wild boar, barking deer, wild hare, and on the odd occasion even the critically endangered swamp deer-“because they are quite a simple shot.” It’s not available off the shelf, but for ‘a regular’ it is an easy buy. Privately, the forest officials worry that the prey base in Kishanpur and Pilibhit has dropped alarmingly, though they are chary of going on record. J S Kaler, a wildlifer based in Bhira explains that most, if not all, households in these parts posses guns—be it licensed or unlicensed. They make good use of it, infact till about two years back there used to hunting camps in Kishanpur, where the target was flushed out by beaters. While that is past history, the carnage hasn’t stopped, anyone looking for a feast, or a quick buck, goes for the kill. Such an off-take ensures that there is a paucity of natural prey base for the tiger—who must then stray out in search of prey…into the sugarcane fields which begin where the forest ends-no pause, no buffer in between. The tiger simply can’t differentiate, the field is his natural habitat—for the sugarcane grass belongs to the same genre as the wild grasses that offer shelter in the jungle. It offers perfect camaflouge, the tall grasses make for a perfect nursery, there is prey—wild boars which dig in for the succulent grasses, cattle, neelgai etc. There is little disturbance for atleast six months, till the sugarcane is cut at the onset of winter, and that is when conflict peaks.
There is simply no buffer between the forest and the fields, which is vital to minimise conflicts, and is a basic premise for tiger reserves. The other cause, rues legendary conservationist Billy Arjan Singh is increasing familiarity with humans, “and sheer mismanagement. Our forest officers are not equipped for wildlife management.” Agrees Dr Rajesh Gopal, member secretary, NTCA who stresses that, “there is an absence of professional leadership or understanding of the nature of the animal, coupled with an absolute lack of political support.” The result? Tigers are declared man-eaters post-haste, with awards on their head—“defeating the very purpose of tiger conservation.” Sources say that so intense is the political pressure that officers are told to kill tigers-or leopards-as the case maybe, now, else lose their jobs. Political interference is apparent in just about every face of forest management, the day I arrive in Pillibhit, the DFO in charge has been shifted out in haste. I am told, strictly off the record, that he packed off because “he was not lenient on the timber mafia, well-connected in political circles.” The result? Pillibhit, a crucial connect between Dudhwa and Royal Shuklaphanta Reserve across the border, and home to no less than 20 tigers and other critically endangered species like the Swamp Deer and the Hispid Hare, is without a head, for an indeterminate period, at the very least, till the elections are over. Another example concerns the shifting of a village from within Dudhwa, which has taken on the tones of vote politics, with politicians taking up the “cause” of the forest dwellers, though the villagers themselves have expressed their eagerness to shift. Again, conflict will only spiral if people continuing to live within tiger reserves.
The same issues, that follow me all through the Terai persist even in Dudhwa—the state has not yet released funds for the reserve, daily wagers who work as guards, trackers etc have not been paid till 2007, and there has been no fresh recruitment for the past three decades, inspite of a severe staff crunch.
Yet the tiger survives, against all odds..so say the set of pugmarks on the sand, a mating pair most likely, that I spot on my way out from Pilibhit. Perhaps we could lend out national animal a helping hand?
Solutions:
• Pilibhit has been given the in principle approval by the centre as a tiger reserve, but the state is delaying to declare it. This must be done at the earliest.
• Landscape level planning. A buffer zone around critical tiger habitats. No sugarcane till atleast 500 mts –but short crops like arhar, where tigers and leopards cannot take refuge.
• Increasing awareness in the fringe villages. Providing gas chullas, or fuel efficient chullas to ease the pressure off forests. The WWF is working on this with the active support of the forest department.
• Tighten protection.
It is not my first halt; yet in many ways, the journey begins here, this is where the idea of traversing the Terai landscape took root, beginning with the tragedy of Barabanki-Faizabad tigress. She was killed as a ‘maneater’, and is believed to have originated from Pilibhit—which is one of the most conflict prone areas in the Terai. These were historically rich tigerlands, but during partition and onwards, huge tracts of grasslands and forests were cleared to make way for agriculture, chiefly sugarcane. Consequently, the region has historically been conflict prone.
Let’s look at the situation now. In the year 2004, 12 people were killed by tigers in the Pilibhit Forest Division. The mortalities dipped a bit since then, but early this year, the situation took on the tones of a tragic-drama with three ‘problem’ tigers on the prowl. The Barabanki-Faizabad, tigress met a grisly end from the hunter’s gun, the Kishanpur tiger which killed four people was tranquilised, and packed off to the Lucknow zoo, while the third, luckier than the others, has been driven back into the forest.
Why is the region so plagued by conflict-with man and tiger thrown into a bitter battle?
Part of the answer lies in the Bhira bazaar, and reportedly, other such haats across the region. Bhira is a village bordering Kishanpur. It’s a small bazaar, but it sells a precious, if ill-gotten, commodity-venison. It’s cheap, about Rs 100 a kilo-and serves a varied palette—there is sambhar, cheetal, wild boar, barking deer, wild hare, and on the odd occasion even the critically endangered swamp deer-“because they are quite a simple shot.” It’s not available off the shelf, but for ‘a regular’ it is an easy buy. Privately, the forest officials worry that the prey base in Kishanpur and Pilibhit has dropped alarmingly, though they are chary of going on record. J S Kaler, a wildlifer based in Bhira explains that most, if not all, households in these parts posses guns—be it licensed or unlicensed. They make good use of it, infact till about two years back there used to hunting camps in Kishanpur, where the target was flushed out by beaters. While that is past history, the carnage hasn’t stopped, anyone looking for a feast, or a quick buck, goes for the kill. Such an off-take ensures that there is a paucity of natural prey base for the tiger—who must then stray out in search of prey…into the sugarcane fields which begin where the forest ends-no pause, no buffer in between. The tiger simply can’t differentiate, the field is his natural habitat—for the sugarcane grass belongs to the same genre as the wild grasses that offer shelter in the jungle. It offers perfect camaflouge, the tall grasses make for a perfect nursery, there is prey—wild boars which dig in for the succulent grasses, cattle, neelgai etc. There is little disturbance for atleast six months, till the sugarcane is cut at the onset of winter, and that is when conflict peaks.
There is simply no buffer between the forest and the fields, which is vital to minimise conflicts, and is a basic premise for tiger reserves. The other cause, rues legendary conservationist Billy Arjan Singh is increasing familiarity with humans, “and sheer mismanagement. Our forest officers are not equipped for wildlife management.” Agrees Dr Rajesh Gopal, member secretary, NTCA who stresses that, “there is an absence of professional leadership or understanding of the nature of the animal, coupled with an absolute lack of political support.” The result? Tigers are declared man-eaters post-haste, with awards on their head—“defeating the very purpose of tiger conservation.” Sources say that so intense is the political pressure that officers are told to kill tigers-or leopards-as the case maybe, now, else lose their jobs. Political interference is apparent in just about every face of forest management, the day I arrive in Pillibhit, the DFO in charge has been shifted out in haste. I am told, strictly off the record, that he packed off because “he was not lenient on the timber mafia, well-connected in political circles.” The result? Pillibhit, a crucial connect between Dudhwa and Royal Shuklaphanta Reserve across the border, and home to no less than 20 tigers and other critically endangered species like the Swamp Deer and the Hispid Hare, is without a head, for an indeterminate period, at the very least, till the elections are over. Another example concerns the shifting of a village from within Dudhwa, which has taken on the tones of vote politics, with politicians taking up the “cause” of the forest dwellers, though the villagers themselves have expressed their eagerness to shift. Again, conflict will only spiral if people continuing to live within tiger reserves.
The same issues, that follow me all through the Terai persist even in Dudhwa—the state has not yet released funds for the reserve, daily wagers who work as guards, trackers etc have not been paid till 2007, and there has been no fresh recruitment for the past three decades, inspite of a severe staff crunch.
Yet the tiger survives, against all odds..so say the set of pugmarks on the sand, a mating pair most likely, that I spot on my way out from Pilibhit. Perhaps we could lend out national animal a helping hand?
Solutions:
• Pilibhit has been given the in principle approval by the centre as a tiger reserve, but the state is delaying to declare it. This must be done at the earliest.
• Landscape level planning. A buffer zone around critical tiger habitats. No sugarcane till atleast 500 mts –but short crops like arhar, where tigers and leopards cannot take refuge.
• Increasing awareness in the fringe villages. Providing gas chullas, or fuel efficient chullas to ease the pressure off forests. The WWF is working on this with the active support of the forest department.
• Tighten protection.
Terai V: Katarniaghat
Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary: It’s an auspicious day in Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary, a part of Dudhwa Tiger Reserve. A truck arrived last night, carrying precious cargo—ghairals. That long-snouted extreme-looking crocodile that ranks amongst the most endangered animals on earth, with less than 200 breeding adults. These were 60 babies, reared at the Kukrail breeding centre in Lucknow, and are here to be released in the wild. We did that, with some ceremony on the banks of the river Girwa. Lifted the lid of the box, and watched them crawl, then swim—with some vacillation. It was, after all, their first taste of flowing waters—so essential to their survival—and freedom.
This would not have been possible in Girwa less than five-years-back. Oh, there were gharials here —Girwa is amongst the three places in the country where gharials survive in fair numbers. But there was no new recruitment, the nests were raided, and the eggs stolen and eaten by the local villagers. “Not one survived,” informs Ajay Singh, a forest guard.
It wasn’t just the gharials. The forest was under siege. Illicit felling and smuggling for wood was rampant, and backed by the timber mafia and local politicians. Permit to fell trees within the land-dwellings in an around the sanctuary were being used to illegally smuggle wood. The forest staff was involved and there were no less than 70 disciplinary proceedings against the staff. Poaching was the order of the day. Poachers used the local gun called bharoi-a shot is enough to stun an elephant. They would walk in from Nepal, and carry back their booty, even as the foresters watched. Evidently, signs of wildlife were rare. Game was being decimated for meat. And tigers…they were there. Very few, very shadowy- they were stalked..and killed-by man.
Katarniaghat, at the time was a sanctuary that wasn’t.
Then in 2005, the management changed. The park had a new director. This is not an ode to the purpose, and efforts of a leader, with his team. But is an attempt to record how with determination a ravaged forest can be turned around and made a haven. It is a lesson, a ray of hope.
Circa 2009: I am in Girwa—a little upset that I had missed sighting the tiger-sighting, yet happy to see their signature-pugmarks of a mother and cub. A snout pops up besides us—to reveal another rare creature. Gangetic dolphins. Six of them, twirling around our boat. Ghairals line the bank, huge ones, tiny ones, male, female-about 60 in all. In the past five years, points out the boatman Ramroop,” the hatchlings have increased from nil to 27 nests in 2008. I cross over to trans-Girwa—to meet Panditji, who runs a ramshackle tea-shop. “His shop was toppled over by elephants,” says forester Ashfaq, with a hint of pride. The elephants are new entrants, as is the other pachyderm, the rhinoceros. Earlier occasional visitors from Nepal, now a few have taken refuge here from the insurgency which ravaged their forests. You could see a herd of 40 or so swamp deer-only found in this part of the world. And best of all—tigers were breeding—a sure sign of a healthy forest. In the recent All India Tiger Census, the camera recorded 20 different tigers in the sample size of 100 sq km—amongst the highest density of tigers in the world.
How the turnaround was achieved is difficult to encapsulate in limited words, but one shall try. Wood permits were stopped, completely—there was a crackdown on timber smuggling, at the cost of threats to job, and life—after all the ‘business’ ran into an estimated 50 lakhs per day. The nexus with the police and the forest staff was broken. The staff was motivated, trained in wildlife, basic supplies like mosquito nets, jackets, shoes, vehicles for patrol etc were purchased. Tigers were constantly monitored, and a systematic method developed for the same. Grazing was stopped. Infiltration for feulwood, and poaching from the Nepal side was stopped with the help of the SSB. “Most importantly, we cracked down the tiger poaching gangs, the Bawarias who had been operating here for some years now, “ says Ramesh Pandey, former DFO, Katarniaghat. It was a February 2005 seizure of tiger skin and bones that provided the first clue. A network of informants was established. There were two more seizures, some arrests. A key poacher, Pratap confessed that they were here to kill tigers—to be supplied to Rani, the wife of Sansar Chand, the kingpin of wildlife trade. Investigations led to another key find that had ominous repercussions—the Bawarias were not just operating here in the Terai, but had spread their tentacles and were poaching in reserves across the country-as far as Periyar in Kerala, and in the North-east.
“Simply put, strict protection with no compromises, effective management and leadership ensured that Katarniaghat thrived,” says Dabeer Hasan, Katarniaghat Welfare Society.
Of course, threats persist in Katarniaghat. Primarily, the Central Seed Farm spread over 38 sq km in the heart of the reserve. A road and a railway line cuts through the reserve—and has caused fatal accidents-including two tigers in recent times. Most worrying, the slack in strict protection is slipping-cattle grazes freely, and we help drive away some ‘visitors’ here from across the border-with head loads of wood. Intelligence information is that poachers are waiting to strike and an alert has been issued from the MoEF for strict vigilance.
That Katarniaghat contains nearly 40 tigers makes it significant enough, besides the fact that it is a critical connect between the Royal Bardia Park in Nepal, and Dudhwa. What makes this park special is that it contains within its compact 440 sq km endangered megafauna like the tiger, rhino, leopard, elephant, swamp deer, gharial, dolphins, mugger essentially representing all the flagship species of the Terai. You could say it is a mosaic of the Terai, as it once was, before the invasion of man. That it survives, inspite of all the odds is the result of the blood and toil, and sacrifice of many—and the legacy must carry on…
Save Katarniaghat:
• Remove the Central Seed Farm to free critical habitat for wildlife
• Remove villages inside the sanctuary, especially Bhartapur, with the enhanced relocation package
• Alternate routes for the railway line (which has been proposed), and the road
• Trans-border vigilance, strict protection
• Fill staff shortage, timely funds
This would not have been possible in Girwa less than five-years-back. Oh, there were gharials here —Girwa is amongst the three places in the country where gharials survive in fair numbers. But there was no new recruitment, the nests were raided, and the eggs stolen and eaten by the local villagers. “Not one survived,” informs Ajay Singh, a forest guard.
It wasn’t just the gharials. The forest was under siege. Illicit felling and smuggling for wood was rampant, and backed by the timber mafia and local politicians. Permit to fell trees within the land-dwellings in an around the sanctuary were being used to illegally smuggle wood. The forest staff was involved and there were no less than 70 disciplinary proceedings against the staff. Poaching was the order of the day. Poachers used the local gun called bharoi-a shot is enough to stun an elephant. They would walk in from Nepal, and carry back their booty, even as the foresters watched. Evidently, signs of wildlife were rare. Game was being decimated for meat. And tigers…they were there. Very few, very shadowy- they were stalked..and killed-by man.
Katarniaghat, at the time was a sanctuary that wasn’t.
Then in 2005, the management changed. The park had a new director. This is not an ode to the purpose, and efforts of a leader, with his team. But is an attempt to record how with determination a ravaged forest can be turned around and made a haven. It is a lesson, a ray of hope.
Circa 2009: I am in Girwa—a little upset that I had missed sighting the tiger-sighting, yet happy to see their signature-pugmarks of a mother and cub. A snout pops up besides us—to reveal another rare creature. Gangetic dolphins. Six of them, twirling around our boat. Ghairals line the bank, huge ones, tiny ones, male, female-about 60 in all. In the past five years, points out the boatman Ramroop,” the hatchlings have increased from nil to 27 nests in 2008. I cross over to trans-Girwa—to meet Panditji, who runs a ramshackle tea-shop. “His shop was toppled over by elephants,” says forester Ashfaq, with a hint of pride. The elephants are new entrants, as is the other pachyderm, the rhinoceros. Earlier occasional visitors from Nepal, now a few have taken refuge here from the insurgency which ravaged their forests. You could see a herd of 40 or so swamp deer-only found in this part of the world. And best of all—tigers were breeding—a sure sign of a healthy forest. In the recent All India Tiger Census, the camera recorded 20 different tigers in the sample size of 100 sq km—amongst the highest density of tigers in the world.
How the turnaround was achieved is difficult to encapsulate in limited words, but one shall try. Wood permits were stopped, completely—there was a crackdown on timber smuggling, at the cost of threats to job, and life—after all the ‘business’ ran into an estimated 50 lakhs per day. The nexus with the police and the forest staff was broken. The staff was motivated, trained in wildlife, basic supplies like mosquito nets, jackets, shoes, vehicles for patrol etc were purchased. Tigers were constantly monitored, and a systematic method developed for the same. Grazing was stopped. Infiltration for feulwood, and poaching from the Nepal side was stopped with the help of the SSB. “Most importantly, we cracked down the tiger poaching gangs, the Bawarias who had been operating here for some years now, “ says Ramesh Pandey, former DFO, Katarniaghat. It was a February 2005 seizure of tiger skin and bones that provided the first clue. A network of informants was established. There were two more seizures, some arrests. A key poacher, Pratap confessed that they were here to kill tigers—to be supplied to Rani, the wife of Sansar Chand, the kingpin of wildlife trade. Investigations led to another key find that had ominous repercussions—the Bawarias were not just operating here in the Terai, but had spread their tentacles and were poaching in reserves across the country-as far as Periyar in Kerala, and in the North-east.
“Simply put, strict protection with no compromises, effective management and leadership ensured that Katarniaghat thrived,” says Dabeer Hasan, Katarniaghat Welfare Society.
Of course, threats persist in Katarniaghat. Primarily, the Central Seed Farm spread over 38 sq km in the heart of the reserve. A road and a railway line cuts through the reserve—and has caused fatal accidents-including two tigers in recent times. Most worrying, the slack in strict protection is slipping-cattle grazes freely, and we help drive away some ‘visitors’ here from across the border-with head loads of wood. Intelligence information is that poachers are waiting to strike and an alert has been issued from the MoEF for strict vigilance.
That Katarniaghat contains nearly 40 tigers makes it significant enough, besides the fact that it is a critical connect between the Royal Bardia Park in Nepal, and Dudhwa. What makes this park special is that it contains within its compact 440 sq km endangered megafauna like the tiger, rhino, leopard, elephant, swamp deer, gharial, dolphins, mugger essentially representing all the flagship species of the Terai. You could say it is a mosaic of the Terai, as it once was, before the invasion of man. That it survives, inspite of all the odds is the result of the blood and toil, and sacrifice of many—and the legacy must carry on…
Save Katarniaghat:
• Remove the Central Seed Farm to free critical habitat for wildlife
• Remove villages inside the sanctuary, especially Bhartapur, with the enhanced relocation package
• Alternate routes for the railway line (which has been proposed), and the road
• Trans-border vigilance, strict protection
• Fill staff shortage, timely funds
Terai VI: Valmiki
Prerna Singh Bindra | Valmiki
Valmiki reserve faces complete system breakdown, on verge of collapse
I could see it through the chalky white ribs of the dead cow — the magnetic stare of a pair of tawny eyes, set in a bloodied baby fuzzy face — tiger cub on a kill. Samir Kumar Sinha from the Wildlife Trust of India informs that it is one of the two cubs trapped in a camera in the dead of night at the Ganauli range in Valmiki Tiger Reserve. That was precisely one year back.
Today, the future of these cubs, and that of the 12-odd tigers in Valmiki, the only tiger reserve in Bihar, is precarious, with the park facing a complete system breakdown, and virtually at the point of collapse. In fact, Valmiki today, makes a mockery of our claims to tiger conservation. The reserve has been without a director for the past seven months, ie since August 2009, prompting S Regupathy, the Minister of State for Environment and Forests to write to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar (D.O. No. 1-30-/2000-PT) pointing out “that it was of utmost importance to urgently post a field director with a good track record in Valmiki at the earliest to ensure protection and related field inputs as per the National Tiger Conservation Authority Guidelines.”
However, there has been no response from the State.
It gets worse, the tiger reserve has not had any funds for the past year — as the State has failed to sign the MoU with the NTCA, which lays down time-bound operational imperatives. The MoU is a prerequisite to receive funding from the Centre. Repeated reminders to sign the MoU have been met with no response, “they are simply not interested,” says a forest official from Bihar, “for after that the State will be answerable to the NTCA. And so while the money has been sanctioned, it lies in abeyance till the MoU is signed.”
Besides, points out an NTCA official, who does the money go to? The State has not created the Tiger Conservation Fund -mandatory under The Wildlife Protection Amendment Act, 2006. Nor is there a director to manage, plan, disburse funds. The result? The staff crucial for tiger protection ie guards, tiger trackers have not been paid for the past one year, there is simply no money for protection and anti-poaching measures, no fuel for vehicles.
Consequently, when a fire raged through Madanpur range of Valmiki in mid-February — suspected to have been ignited by the timber mafia — the forest department was just not equipped to fight it. Huge tracts of grasslands, the mainstay of herbivores were destroyed. The post of the ranger in the most crucial range, Madanpur — which is the richest in terms of wildlife, and the most sensitive, because of its proximity to Nepal, is lying vacant as well. It may be worth mentioning that in May 2008, a tiger was killed here by poachers.
The rot is set deep, and the infrastructural and constitutional support for Valmiki, and indeed other PAs simply does not exist — the State does not have a functional State Wildlife Advisory Board for the past two years, nor has it deployed a Tiger Protection Force as directed by the Centre, after the Sariska debacle.
Valmiki is the easterly end of the part of the Terai landscape, which has been identified as a critical tiger habitat crucial to the tiger’s survival, and is contiguous to the Royal Chitwan Park in Nepal. As Regupathy’s letter points out, only six per cent of Bihar is under forest and just 512 sq km occupied by tigers. Looks like Bihar will lose that too, and the Panthera tigris, unless it acts now.
Solutions
Appoint a director. Sign the MoU. Get the funds going, pay staff. Induct new staff. Stop illegal boulder mining
The political will has to come from the Chief Minister downwards. The State Wildlife Advisory Committee must be formed and made functional. Create a Tiger Conservation Fund
Step up protection along the border with Nepal. These corridors are vital for wildlife - used by tigers, rhinos, elephants, and provide for contiguity with Chitwan. International cooperation for joint patrolling
(Concluded)
Valmiki reserve faces complete system breakdown, on verge of collapse
I could see it through the chalky white ribs of the dead cow — the magnetic stare of a pair of tawny eyes, set in a bloodied baby fuzzy face — tiger cub on a kill. Samir Kumar Sinha from the Wildlife Trust of India informs that it is one of the two cubs trapped in a camera in the dead of night at the Ganauli range in Valmiki Tiger Reserve. That was precisely one year back.
Today, the future of these cubs, and that of the 12-odd tigers in Valmiki, the only tiger reserve in Bihar, is precarious, with the park facing a complete system breakdown, and virtually at the point of collapse. In fact, Valmiki today, makes a mockery of our claims to tiger conservation. The reserve has been without a director for the past seven months, ie since August 2009, prompting S Regupathy, the Minister of State for Environment and Forests to write to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar (D.O. No. 1-30-/2000-PT) pointing out “that it was of utmost importance to urgently post a field director with a good track record in Valmiki at the earliest to ensure protection and related field inputs as per the National Tiger Conservation Authority Guidelines.”
However, there has been no response from the State.
It gets worse, the tiger reserve has not had any funds for the past year — as the State has failed to sign the MoU with the NTCA, which lays down time-bound operational imperatives. The MoU is a prerequisite to receive funding from the Centre. Repeated reminders to sign the MoU have been met with no response, “they are simply not interested,” says a forest official from Bihar, “for after that the State will be answerable to the NTCA. And so while the money has been sanctioned, it lies in abeyance till the MoU is signed.”
Besides, points out an NTCA official, who does the money go to? The State has not created the Tiger Conservation Fund -mandatory under The Wildlife Protection Amendment Act, 2006. Nor is there a director to manage, plan, disburse funds. The result? The staff crucial for tiger protection ie guards, tiger trackers have not been paid for the past one year, there is simply no money for protection and anti-poaching measures, no fuel for vehicles.
Consequently, when a fire raged through Madanpur range of Valmiki in mid-February — suspected to have been ignited by the timber mafia — the forest department was just not equipped to fight it. Huge tracts of grasslands, the mainstay of herbivores were destroyed. The post of the ranger in the most crucial range, Madanpur — which is the richest in terms of wildlife, and the most sensitive, because of its proximity to Nepal, is lying vacant as well. It may be worth mentioning that in May 2008, a tiger was killed here by poachers.
The rot is set deep, and the infrastructural and constitutional support for Valmiki, and indeed other PAs simply does not exist — the State does not have a functional State Wildlife Advisory Board for the past two years, nor has it deployed a Tiger Protection Force as directed by the Centre, after the Sariska debacle.
Valmiki is the easterly end of the part of the Terai landscape, which has been identified as a critical tiger habitat crucial to the tiger’s survival, and is contiguous to the Royal Chitwan Park in Nepal. As Regupathy’s letter points out, only six per cent of Bihar is under forest and just 512 sq km occupied by tigers. Looks like Bihar will lose that too, and the Panthera tigris, unless it acts now.
Solutions
Appoint a director. Sign the MoU. Get the funds going, pay staff. Induct new staff. Stop illegal boulder mining
The political will has to come from the Chief Minister downwards. The State Wildlife Advisory Committee must be formed and made functional. Create a Tiger Conservation Fund
Step up protection along the border with Nepal. These corridors are vital for wildlife - used by tigers, rhinos, elephants, and provide for contiguity with Chitwan. International cooperation for joint patrolling
(Concluded)
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
No port forte turtles..
"Could you piss in a bottle of mineral water, and simultaneously test it for quality?"questioned a conservationist, before he—and other leading conservationists of the country, walked out of a meeting on Friday, February 20, at the TATA Steel office with the top officials of Dhamra Port, TATA Steel and L&T who are both partners in the project. "That was in protest over their refusal to consider any suspension of dredging operations pending an independent assessment of the environmental impacts of the upcoming Dhamra port in Orissa," says adman Prahlad Kakar, who also is part of Mumbai-based organisation, Reefwatch. "They refused to even suspend construction, or at the very least, the dredging for the current two months, which is turtle mating and nesting season," adds Kakkar.
The port has long been a source of controversy given its proximity to the Gahirmatha mass nesting beaches and the Bhitarkanika National Park. Gahirmatha is one of the world's largest mass nesting beaches for the olive ridley sea turtle, a species protected under Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act.
"There is no point in agreeing to an assessment while simultaneously carrying out large scale habitat alteration activities such as dredging," says Bittu Sahgal, editor Sanctuary Asia. There has been absolutely no assessment of what impact this might have on the marine food web or the erosion and sedimentation patterns nearby, including on the nesting beaches of Gahirmatha. "That's why we were asking TATA to suspend the dredging operations pending the assessment, but their absolute refusal to negotiate makes one wonder if they do have environmental interests at heart," added Ashish Feranendes of Greenpeace. Conservationists point out that Gahirmatha has not seen the arribada or the mass nesting since construction at the Dhamra port site commenced, and do not rule out the possible influence of dredging in the area, which has been going on night and day, even in the critical turtle breeding and nesting season. Those present at the meeting included representatives from Wildlife Protection Society of India, Conservation Action Trust, Wildlife Protection Society of Orissa, Sanctuary Asia, Reefwatch and Greenpeace, while the port was well-represented by top officials from Dhamra, TATA and L & T. However, the latter refused to comment on the issue inspite of repeated efforts.
Earlier in the dialogue process, conservationists led by Greenpeace had presented TATA with the Terms of Reference and scope of an independent and comprehensive environmental assessment of the port and its potential impacts, pointing out that the existing Environmental Impact Assessment has glaring loopholes and that the scope of the project had changed since then. While TATA had in principle agreed to commissioning a new assessment, there were disagreements on the scope and most crucially on the need to suspend elements of construction, particularly dredging, while the study was conducted.
Turtle expert Dr Bivash Pandav explains that enough damage has been done to Gahirmatha by constructing the missile test range right besides the world's largest sea turtle rookery. "And now whatever left is left will be destroyed by this port. This port at Dhamra is the final nail in the coffin for the turtles of Gahirmatha. Turtles in Orissa for sure are following the path of passenger pigeon." However, this grim prophecy is of little consequence to the project proponents, who have already finished with nearly 30 per cent of the port, and is proposed to be completed by 2010.
And the turtles? They are here, tens of thousands of them, just off the coast of Gahirmatha, following a ritual as ancient as time, to nest, and breed, in the same beach as they have done since millennia…unaware that their fate is all but sealed in the cold boardrooms of 'development' without a conscience.
The port has long been a source of controversy given its proximity to the Gahirmatha mass nesting beaches and the Bhitarkanika National Park. Gahirmatha is one of the world's largest mass nesting beaches for the olive ridley sea turtle, a species protected under Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act.
"There is no point in agreeing to an assessment while simultaneously carrying out large scale habitat alteration activities such as dredging," says Bittu Sahgal, editor Sanctuary Asia. There has been absolutely no assessment of what impact this might have on the marine food web or the erosion and sedimentation patterns nearby, including on the nesting beaches of Gahirmatha. "That's why we were asking TATA to suspend the dredging operations pending the assessment, but their absolute refusal to negotiate makes one wonder if they do have environmental interests at heart," added Ashish Feranendes of Greenpeace. Conservationists point out that Gahirmatha has not seen the arribada or the mass nesting since construction at the Dhamra port site commenced, and do not rule out the possible influence of dredging in the area, which has been going on night and day, even in the critical turtle breeding and nesting season. Those present at the meeting included representatives from Wildlife Protection Society of India, Conservation Action Trust, Wildlife Protection Society of Orissa, Sanctuary Asia, Reefwatch and Greenpeace, while the port was well-represented by top officials from Dhamra, TATA and L & T. However, the latter refused to comment on the issue inspite of repeated efforts.
Earlier in the dialogue process, conservationists led by Greenpeace had presented TATA with the Terms of Reference and scope of an independent and comprehensive environmental assessment of the port and its potential impacts, pointing out that the existing Environmental Impact Assessment has glaring loopholes and that the scope of the project had changed since then. While TATA had in principle agreed to commissioning a new assessment, there were disagreements on the scope and most crucially on the need to suspend elements of construction, particularly dredging, while the study was conducted.
Turtle expert Dr Bivash Pandav explains that enough damage has been done to Gahirmatha by constructing the missile test range right besides the world's largest sea turtle rookery. "And now whatever left is left will be destroyed by this port. This port at Dhamra is the final nail in the coffin for the turtles of Gahirmatha. Turtles in Orissa for sure are following the path of passenger pigeon." However, this grim prophecy is of little consequence to the project proponents, who have already finished with nearly 30 per cent of the port, and is proposed to be completed by 2010.
And the turtles? They are here, tens of thousands of them, just off the coast of Gahirmatha, following a ritual as ancient as time, to nest, and breed, in the same beach as they have done since millennia…unaware that their fate is all but sealed in the cold boardrooms of 'development' without a conscience.
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