Palamu Tiger Reserve is in a state of limbo. The field director of Tiger Project Palamu Sanjay Srivastava is on long medical leave soon after joining here as field director in the wake of transfer of A S Rawat.

Member of Jharkhand State wildlife board DS Srivastava has confirmed the long absence of field director Sanjay from here.

Further DS Srivastava said DFO Core PTR A K Mishra is on a three month training course in UK and no one has taken over the charge of the DFO Core PTR. Srivastava said “There is no Incharge DFO Core of the PTR which houses national park Betla.”

Srivastava lamented that PCCF has not bothered to make even a stop gap arrangement by giving the charge of DFO Core PTR to DFO Buffer PTR Mahaling here. Such absence of officers in PTR have begun to tell upon its health rued this state member.

Only one month is left now when this fiscal year will end on March 31st and there is no DFO Core and field director PTR is on leave with no knowledge of whether Sanjay has gone for any extension of his medical leave.

PTR is reeling under acute water crisis. A good number of its water bodies are dry now. Even the dependable Madhu Chuan in national park Betla has shrunk in terms of water storage. 60 per cent of more than 300 water holes in PTR are filled with silt. One thirsty deer which had strayed into a village in Paton block lost its life due to exhaustion and dehydration last week.

Srivastava reminded that coming months March April May and June are fire prone months here in PTR and outbreak of fire in PTR is very common in these months. With no management head right now anti fire measures are put on the back burner. 

Srivastava reminded that coming Holi festival portends too ill for deer in PTR as villagers go for deer poaching. Asked if the PTR is covered by 24x7 patrol he said “less said the better”. He rather lobbed a question to The Pioneer “With less than a dozen forest guards how can you hope of an effective PTR patrolIJ”