LAGATAR 24 NETWORK
Daltonganj, July 26: A two-day workshop on the technical and practical aspects of grassland management, beginning Tuesday, was held at the Betla National Park under the Palamu Tiger Reserve (PTR).
The workshop had India fame grassland management expert Dr Gajanan Muratkar who gave valuable guidelines and tips for effective and growing grassland management. It had the active participation of the Chief Conservator of Forest and Field Director of the PTR, Kumar Ashutosh, and the Deputy Director North division of this tiger reserve P Jena.
The workshop was attended by the staff of the PTR besides field staff of the adjoining districts like Latehar, Garhwa, Gumla, Ramgarh, Chatra etc.
There are 1,282 hectares of grassland in the whole of the PTR. P Jena said our aim is to increase it by 6 to 8 fold. The ideal norm for a tiger reserve is 8 per cent of its territory.
The PTR owns an expanse of 1,100 sq km and just has less than 2 per cent of the grasslands.
P Jena said, “It’s not the physical count of the grassland that matters only. The grassland has to have quality. The workshop addressed this issue at length.”
The Deputy Director North division of the PTR conceded there is tremendous biotic pressure on the grasslands of the tiger reserve. This biotic pressure is on account of the numerous villages in and around PTR. Cattle invade the grasslands. They eat the palatable grasses meant for the herbivores here. It has to be curtailed and contained. Farmers who own cattle and push them into our territory should be wise enough not to send their cattle on our grasslands.
It is not only the cattle that steal the grasses of this tiger reserve. There is a large variety of invasive weeds too that grow here. Jena said the workshop on the preservation of the grassland focused on the issue of invasive weeds.
Chief Conservator of Forest and Field Director of the PTR Kumar Ashutosh said, “We are identifying areas in the tiger reserve to have small patches for the grasslands. The new patches of the grasslands can be of few hectares.”
Ashutosh further said, “Grassland is the mirror of any tiger reserve. Our PTR has immense potential for it. The need is to tap the resources.”
P Jena elaborating on the value of the grassland said, “Grassland is an important aspect of the food chain. And the food chain has to be unbroken. A food chain augments honest prey base.”
Jena said he would like to bring in the raising of grasslands under the MGNRRGA for which he said he in consultation with the DC Latehar would discuss the issue.
On how to decrease the intrusion of the cattle into the grasslands of the tiger reserve, Jena said, “Right from the block level animal husbandry officer down to the district animal husbandry officer, every stakeholder has to take an initiative. Farmers should be told to have an improved variety of cattle. Stall feeding has to be promoted instead of allowing cattle to intrude on areas specified for the wildlife.”
