Report available on
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Activist pushes Jairam ministry into action on Tigress death
NTCA Secretary Rajesh Gopal released a status report on the death of a tigress inside Bandhavgarh reserve after visiting the park today. The report is a result of unrelenting pressure built up by local activists lead by Bhopal based Shehla Masood who was the first one to bring out facts related to killing of the tiger. Based on facts gathered from the visit the report clearly states the cause of death to be a vehicle hit and one that probably belongs to a local govt official. The report has suggested the state govt order a CBI enquiry into the killing.
‘Tourism overkill endangering Corbett’
Alarmed at the uncontrolled tourist flow into the Corbett National Park, Brijendra Singh, the park’s honorary wildlife warden, has emphasised the need for the State Government to ‘act urgently’ to check tourism and ensure that it did not turn the park into a “glorified, large zoo”.
Talking to The Pioneer at Wycliffe, his residence here, on Monday, Raja Sahib (as he is popularly known) said that the State Government should constitute a committee — consisting of representatives from the fields of forest, tourism and wildlife — which should rethink on the resorts that have come up in places where corridors for animals should have been set up.
Singh said that the committee should make sure that these resorts are removed and compensation is paid to their owners. “And it should decide on the establishment of corridors,” said Singh who has been the honorary wildlife warden of the national park since 1982. “The committee should holistically look into the problems at Corbett,” he said.
Dr Rajesh Gopal, member-secretary of the National Tiger Conser-vation Authority (NTCA), and Brijendra Singh will be at Corbett from June 3 to June 5 to look into the problems arising out of ‘over tourism’ in the park. Singh said if the problems were not sorted out immediately, things would be over for Corbett and it would be reduced to a safari park. “However, all is not lost and things can be worked out even now and some corridors can still be established,” he added.
But, says Raja Sahib, if things are not taken in hand now, then saving Corbett will become a losing battle.
Brijendra Singh, who spends most of his time patrolling the Corbett Tiger Reserve and organising sting operations to nab poachers, says over tourism and lack of involvement of local villagers had been the two major problems that had affected the park.
“We need more efforts to involve the locals. Unfortunately, many locals sold their property to resort owners who came to Corbett from Mumbai and Delhi. And now these villagers, who once owned that land, are working as waiters in these resorts.”
He said it was important to involve the locals as Ramnagar was entirely dependent on tourism. “If at that time the Government had controlled the sale of land around the park, things would have been quite different now,” said Singh, who divides his time among Delhi, Corbett and Mussoorie.
Singh said another problem plaguing Corbett is the trees planted on the fire lines. “It has led to a Catch-22 situation. If these trees are not removed, we cannot have clear fire lines and if they are felled then again we will be in the wrong,” said Singh, who is the longest serving member on the Indian Board for Wildlife.
Brijendra Singh’s association with the park began as a school boy (from The Doon School) in 1957. “We used to go for our mid-term breaks from the school. Thick forests started from Haridwar itself. Corbett was a paradise.”
His love for the park grew with each visit. His active involvement with the park began with his successful campaign to stop construction of a three-star hotel at Khinnanauli by the Tourism Department of Uttar Pradesh, in 1968. This area today is the prime tiger habitat and the pride of Corbett.
Having come from a background where hunting, at the time, was a part of life, Brijendra Singh grew up as a hunter and is well-known in the hills around Mussoorie for having shot many cattle lifting and man-eater leopards in the area. Though he gave up hunting in 1970, he is still called upon by the forest department when in crisis to put away man-eater leopards, a task which he reluctantly undertakes.
Talking to The Pioneer at Wycliffe, his residence here, on Monday, Raja Sahib (as he is popularly known) said that the State Government should constitute a committee — consisting of representatives from the fields of forest, tourism and wildlife — which should rethink on the resorts that have come up in places where corridors for animals should have been set up.
Singh said that the committee should make sure that these resorts are removed and compensation is paid to their owners. “And it should decide on the establishment of corridors,” said Singh who has been the honorary wildlife warden of the national park since 1982. “The committee should holistically look into the problems at Corbett,” he said.
Dr Rajesh Gopal, member-secretary of the National Tiger Conser-vation Authority (NTCA), and Brijendra Singh will be at Corbett from June 3 to June 5 to look into the problems arising out of ‘over tourism’ in the park. Singh said if the problems were not sorted out immediately, things would be over for Corbett and it would be reduced to a safari park. “However, all is not lost and things can be worked out even now and some corridors can still be established,” he added.
But, says Raja Sahib, if things are not taken in hand now, then saving Corbett will become a losing battle.
Brijendra Singh, who spends most of his time patrolling the Corbett Tiger Reserve and organising sting operations to nab poachers, says over tourism and lack of involvement of local villagers had been the two major problems that had affected the park.
“We need more efforts to involve the locals. Unfortunately, many locals sold their property to resort owners who came to Corbett from Mumbai and Delhi. And now these villagers, who once owned that land, are working as waiters in these resorts.”
He said it was important to involve the locals as Ramnagar was entirely dependent on tourism. “If at that time the Government had controlled the sale of land around the park, things would have been quite different now,” said Singh, who divides his time among Delhi, Corbett and Mussoorie.
Singh said another problem plaguing Corbett is the trees planted on the fire lines. “It has led to a Catch-22 situation. If these trees are not removed, we cannot have clear fire lines and if they are felled then again we will be in the wrong,” said Singh, who is the longest serving member on the Indian Board for Wildlife.
Brijendra Singh’s association with the park began as a school boy (from The Doon School) in 1957. “We used to go for our mid-term breaks from the school. Thick forests started from Haridwar itself. Corbett was a paradise.”
His love for the park grew with each visit. His active involvement with the park began with his successful campaign to stop construction of a three-star hotel at Khinnanauli by the Tourism Department of Uttar Pradesh, in 1968. This area today is the prime tiger habitat and the pride of Corbett.
Having come from a background where hunting, at the time, was a part of life, Brijendra Singh grew up as a hunter and is well-known in the hills around Mussoorie for having shot many cattle lifting and man-eater leopards in the area. Though he gave up hunting in 1970, he is still called upon by the forest department when in crisis to put away man-eater leopards, a task which he reluctantly undertakes.
Stalled tigress death probe gets a leg-up
Investigations into the 11-day-old murder mystery of an eight-year-old tigress in the Bandhavgarh reserve in Madhya Pradesh gained momentum on Monday with the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) member-secretary Dr Rajesh Gopal reaching the site to probe the incident and report back to Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh.
The identity of the killer/s continues to be shrouded in mystery. Though Ramesh had sought an immediate report from MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, there has been no response so far.
In view of the delay, Dr Gopal reached the tiger reserve on Monday. There is speculation that a CBI probe may be ordered into the incident.
MP’s Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Dharmendra Shukla, who was earlier probing the incident, said, “The preliminary inquiry report related to circumstances causing the incident and other factors has been submitted to the State, but the criminal investigation is still not over. The report will take some time.”
According to NTCA sources, Gopal will also decide on the rehabilitation of the three cubs after the death of their mother. The three-month-old cubs need special attention.
In another development, nearly 200 villagers under the banner of Jansabha met outside the reserve on Monday to finalise their three-point memorandum to be submitted to Dr Gopal. They are demanding a CBI inquiry, protection of the orphaned cubs and a stable tourism policy for the benefit of the local villagers who largely depend on this trade.
“We are convinced that the Forest department would not be able to do justice to the investigation as one of the officials is involved,” said Dhruv Singh, a local, who spoke to this correspondent over telephone. This, he felt, explains the inordinate delay in the submission of the report, despite the directives of the Environment Minister, adding that it should be handed over to the CBI now.
The safety of the cubs following the death of the mother was also a source of concern for the local villagers. The three cubs continue to be in the prime natural habitat area, which are inhabited by other tigresses, wolves, leopards etc. The prevailing situation may disturb the equilibrium of the habitat. However, Field Director CR Patil said, “The cubs are safe and being monitored round-the-clock. They are being fed from time to time.”
The villagers also threw light on inconsistent tourist policies. The policies change with change in field directors, they said. “They are transferred after every two-three years leaving us at crossroads”, they regretted.
The eight-year-old tigress was found dead in Jhurjhura region of the reserve close to a water source in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve on May 19. The post-mortem report said the big cat died of multiple injuries after she was knocked down more than once by a vehicle.
The identity of the killer/s continues to be shrouded in mystery. Though Ramesh had sought an immediate report from MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, there has been no response so far.
In view of the delay, Dr Gopal reached the tiger reserve on Monday. There is speculation that a CBI probe may be ordered into the incident.
MP’s Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Dharmendra Shukla, who was earlier probing the incident, said, “The preliminary inquiry report related to circumstances causing the incident and other factors has been submitted to the State, but the criminal investigation is still not over. The report will take some time.”
According to NTCA sources, Gopal will also decide on the rehabilitation of the three cubs after the death of their mother. The three-month-old cubs need special attention.
In another development, nearly 200 villagers under the banner of Jansabha met outside the reserve on Monday to finalise their three-point memorandum to be submitted to Dr Gopal. They are demanding a CBI inquiry, protection of the orphaned cubs and a stable tourism policy for the benefit of the local villagers who largely depend on this trade.
“We are convinced that the Forest department would not be able to do justice to the investigation as one of the officials is involved,” said Dhruv Singh, a local, who spoke to this correspondent over telephone. This, he felt, explains the inordinate delay in the submission of the report, despite the directives of the Environment Minister, adding that it should be handed over to the CBI now.
The safety of the cubs following the death of the mother was also a source of concern for the local villagers. The three cubs continue to be in the prime natural habitat area, which are inhabited by other tigresses, wolves, leopards etc. The prevailing situation may disturb the equilibrium of the habitat. However, Field Director CR Patil said, “The cubs are safe and being monitored round-the-clock. They are being fed from time to time.”
The villagers also threw light on inconsistent tourist policies. The policies change with change in field directors, they said. “They are transferred after every two-three years leaving us at crossroads”, they regretted.
The eight-year-old tigress was found dead in Jhurjhura region of the reserve close to a water source in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve on May 19. The post-mortem report said the big cat died of multiple injuries after she was knocked down more than once by a vehicle.
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