M F AHMAD
Daltonganj, June 24: Tiger safari in Palamu Tiger Reserve may sound ridiculous when there is no surety of any tiger roaming around in this reserve at this point and to have a safari in its name is no less than a cruel joke.
There can be a tiger safari here only where tigers are brought in from outside.
Sources said the department of forest, environment and climate change, Government of Jharkhand is taking a cue from Bihar which has very successfully set up Rajgir zoo safari in its state and is earning crores every year out of it besides popularising wildlife in Bihar.
Chief conservator of forest and field director of the tiger reserve Palamu Kumar Ashutosh told lagatar24.com that we are also exploring all avenues to set up a tiger safari in our PTR.
No tiger safari can be set up in the core or critical area of the tiger reserve or sanctuary. It has to be only in the buffer or fringe area of the tiger reserve.
“We have a large chunk of the buffer area or say fringe area here in the PTR and so space is no issue here,” said Kumar Ashutosh.
The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has asked for a minimum of 40 hectares for the tiger safari. Commenting upon this, Kumar Ashutosh said, “We have more than this 40 hectares here in the PTR and that we can have for the tiger safari.”
The chief conservator of forest and field director of PTR is preferring space near the Kamaldah jheel for the tiger safari if it comes up. He said it will take off the load of the tourists which gets too much on the Betla National Park and its wildlife. A tiger safari here will mean more earning opportunities for various kinds of people living in and around the tiger reserve.
Deputy Director North division of PTR Kumar Ashish said, “Once we get a go-ahead from the NTCA and the Central Zoo Authority for this plan of ours, we will be moving forward with the tiger safari here.”
However when asked does it not sound funny that you have no tiger visible in your PTR here over the last 6 months of this year and you people are talking big about having a tiger safari?, the chief conservator of forest and field director Kumar Ashutosh said, “We know this. We also know we can have tiger or tigers from outside for our tiger safari.”
His deputy Ashish said it is slightly easier to have tigers for a safari than to have a translocation of tigers from other tiger reserves in India whose number is 50 plus in the country.
Another deputy director Mukesh Kumar who holds the South division of PTR said a tiger safari here in PTR will be a positive step forward for the revival of the PTR.
Mukesh Kumar said very recently we had a member in Shailesh Prasad a former PCCF of UP of the advisory committee set up by the NTCA visiting our PTR who was told of our plan to set up a tiger safari here in the PTR. Mukesh said the visiting member of the advisory committee appreciated our move or plan for the tiger safari here.
Chief conservator of forest and field director Kumar Ashutosh hinted at even bringing in tiger from Jharkhand-based Bhagwan Birsa Biological Park here but only when the NTCA and Central Zoo Authority permit it. There is also the issue of clearance from the forest department.
However, before embarking on the tiger safari here the PTR is all out to have a soft release centre for the cheetal at two of its prime grasslands the Teno grassland and Lokaiyya grassland.
“We now find a small flock of cheetal in these two grasslands and this we want to improve further. Cheetal is an excellent prey base and for tiger safari it but inevitable,” said Kumar Ashutosh.
The PTR is to set up a soft release centre for cheetal first in only 10 hectares of grasslands here and on the multiplicity of the number of cheetal the area of soft release centre is to be further expanded into 100 hectares for more and more cheetals to live, give birth and grow there.
As the tiger-bearing countries across the world observe July 29 as International Tiger Day, back here in PTR the authorities are also making hay while the sun shines.
