Between a rock and a hard place

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At the Valmiki Sanctuary in Champaran, human interference has meant that it's not just the river that has changed course...

Gone are the days of the ‘big game’. Hunting and chasing wild animals is more like a dream. Way back in 1911, King George V had hunted 39 tigers and 18 rhinos in a mere 11 days of his stay at the Valmiki Sanctuary. Although hunting was banned long ago, in the present day scenario there are several other reasons for the drop in the tiger population. Engulfed with this problem, among many other wildlife parks is the Valmiki Sanctuary, which has undergone a great deal of unwanted change.

Located in the West Champaran district of Bihar, bordering Nepal, the Valmiki Sanctuary was declared and established as India's 18th Tiger Reserve in 1990 and is ranked 4th in the density of tiger population. Although the tiger count in this area has always been low, the authorities have forever claimed that the tigers have migrated to Nepal. The Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Mr. M K Sharma admits, “The drop in the tiger population may be due to our unscientific ways of counting, but certainly there has been a noticeable slump.”

The reserve had a 500 odd square kilometers as a buffer zone around it. But the Bihar Forest Division went ahead and included 40 square kilometers of densely populated area adjacent to Shikarpur. Most of the locals (about 1,50,000 people of the Tharu tribe) earned their livelihood by supplying boulders - carried by the ferocious currents of the mountaneous rivers - to the crushers. But soon after the declaration in 1990 that the riverbanks were out of bounds for one and all, as the preservation of the tiger’s habitat was necessary, the locals had to resort to other measures. Since the inhabitants, were forbidden from removing the rocks, the boulders had started to accumulate which had led to a change in the course of the river causing soil erosion. Strangely, back in 1993 ex-chief conservator O P Lal had inisited that removing these boulders was in no way detrimental to the environment. It was soon revealed that these boulders were still being sold but their contractor happened to be a close relative of the forest authorities. The Park even had a beautiful 13th century historical monument which is now been partially submerged. The Chief Conservator of Forests, Mr. B N Jha squarely blamed the boulder contractors, “They (boulder contractors)are responsible for changing course of the river and not the authorities.”

The authorities have always claimed to have done their bit for the sanctuary and for the cause of wildlife conservation. But the stark reality remains that poaching is still prevalent in the area. And while the Nepalese authorities have taken steps to keep a close check on the tigers by planting transmitters around their neck, the response on this side of the border has been lukewarm at best and lethargic at worst. Meanwhile, the tiger remains caught between the rock and a hard place.


Rajan Prakash


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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).


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