| A Maoist purge underway in Palamau-Latehar — on the lines of the prolonged sanitisation in Saranda — is sapping the tourist flow to the sprawling tiger reserve, home to 45-odd wildlife species including the majestic Bengal big cat. DGP G. Rath confirmed that they were working in phases to purge Maoists from the state. "After Saranda, we are focusing on Palamau-Latehar," he said. Another senior official pointed out that the anti-Maoist operations, which automatically involve liberal use of guns and explosives, were taking a toll on animal behaviour. Schedule 31 and 32 of the Wildlife Protection Act (1972) bans entry of arms, ammunition and explosives in sanctuaries and reserve forests. In deep jungles, where visibility is low, the security forces are also burning bushes, shrinking wildlife habitat. IG (Palamau range) Deepak Verma, however, claimed that the Barwadih and Garu camps could not host security forces in such large numbers. "They came from distant places, including Jamshedpur and Calcutta, and we had no option but to deny them accommodation. Presence of security forces in such large numbers can indeed instil fear. An official of the forest department too admitted that rebels were threatening the entire region for a decade now. But, in the same breath, he added that as compared to Saranda, which is just a wildlife corridor, Betla was home to animals, including the dwindling Royal Bengal Tiger. ". The forces can easily set up bases there," he said. According to a senior official of Palamau Tiger Reserve, Jharkhand Police approached them on March 30, seeking accommodation only for two days. The two senior policemen had promised to vacate the property after that and we were sanguine of resuming our maintenance jobs," he said on the condition of anonymity. He claimed that over a dozen tourists, including a couple from Canada, had prior bookings for visit to the national park and tiger reserve. We are not here for picnic, nor do we love to stay in jungles. We are risking our lives, working in adverse conditions, only for the safety of people," he said. Forest officials acknowledged that the forces were doing their job, but pointed to unfavourable antecedents. He added that the current cleansing operation was taking place in the jungles of Barwadih and stretching to the Chhattisgarh border, 20-22km from the Betla tourist complex. This elaborate infrastructure to host visitors from the state, country and abroad is, presently, a fortress housing gun-toting men in uniform. The animals are under stress," he said. The security forces had launched a major offensive against ultra-left outfits in the region in March-end. |
Tuesday, 10 April 2012
Mission Palamau slays tourism
