M F AHMAD
Daltonganj, March 2: The two deputy directors of the Palamu Tiger Reserve, Kumar Ashish (North division) and Mukesh Kumar (South division), have returned to the tiger project directorate in Daltonganj after visiting two tiger reserves in Rajasthan namely Sariska and Mukundra hills.
These two officers were in Rajasthan from February 24 to 27.
Chief conservator of forest and field director of PTR Kumar Ashutosh said these two officers have done a meticulous information gathering of the two tiger reserves in Rajasthan.
“We would sit and discuss pointwise among ourselves on what they saw there and what is missing here,” he said.
Sources said the visit was regarding the reintroduction of tigers from other tiger reserves in Palamu tiger reserve.
The two had earlier visited the Panna tiger reserve in Madhya Pradesh for the same purpose of translocation of tigers in the PTR.
Lagatar24.com spoke to Mukesh Kumar today. “In comparison to gigantic long trees in PTR, the jungles of Sariska tiger reserve are bushy. Bush falls short in the PTR’s greater scope,” he said.
However, he said PTR grasses are most palatable to wildlife.
He said the Sariska tiger reserve faces an enormous problem of cattle grazing. It is the greatest problem with this tiger reserve.
Unlike PTR, the Sariska tiger reserve has no issue of extremism. It has a different set of guards called Border Home Guard following Pakistan having its border with Rajasthan. PTR too has a similar problem of cattle intruding the core and buffer areas of this tiger reserve.
Mukesh Kumar further said the Sariska tiger reserve has gone for patch fencing to prevent cattle invasion there.
Using a simile he said what one sees in big cities where land is segmented in plots and then the plots are fenced likewise management of the Sariska tiger reserve has fenced its grasslands saving it from being eaten up by the cattle of the farmers.
On the issue of poaching here at Sariska tiger reserve, he said people who live in and around the tiger reserve here are mostly vegetarian and thus do not hunt wildlife for meat and feast. This has saved and helped the Sariska tiger reserve to conserve and grow its prey base.
However, in PTR, people living in and around love feast and meat both and exploit wildlife for food.
Sariska tiger reserve has successfully relocated its 5 villages. There are around 15 villages right in the tiger reserve.
On the other hand, PTR has been struggling to relocate even one household out of the total of 210 households comprising both the villages Latu and Kujrum for more than a decade.
“Our Latu Kujrum should know how people in Sariska tiger reserve have begun a new lease of life by getting out of the tiger reserve,’ Mukesh said.
Field director Ashutosh said the villagers are to take their decisions in their own larger interest. There is no pressure for them to exit from the PTR.
About the watchtowers cum patrol booth, Mukesh Kumar said Sariska tiger reserve also has such institutions and all are strategically located. He said these structures are well in occupancy by the field staff round the clock.
“Back here in PTR, there are more than 90 such watchtowers cum patrol chowkis but their design and height are different from the ones in the Sariska tiger reserve,” added Mukesh.
The two deputy directors visited the Mukundra hills tiger reserve in Rajasthan where there is a captive holding of a tigress in 82 square kilometers.
Mukesh Kumar declined to make any comment on the status of the Mukundra hills tiger reserve saying, “We have visited it to bring here the good of it and not to pass a word on it.”
“We will be making a comparative analysis of things that our two officers found and seen in three tiger reserves Panna, Sariska and Mukundra hills,” said field director Ashutosh.
