It was a very different blanket distribution in the core area of the tiger reserve Palamu on Thursday. There was no shamiana, loud speaker and no one was the chief guest of this occasion. As many as 80 villagers of Saidup a core area of the tiger reserve got one blanket each. The beneficiaries were the most genuine faces like Dhukraj Singh who was disabled and Bali Singh who reached the Van Gashti Chowki the venue of blanket distribution on his crutches.
The beneficiaries of the blankets the poor having 60 years and above age, sick and the disabled and the destitutes were the guests of the tiger reserve Palamu and the tiger reserve was just a facilitator as it had collected blankets from its own retired official Gopal Verma, Ashish Kumar a member of the Tiger & Nature Friends Society, Somwati Kumari Educational Trust which runs an elite school Brightland Public School in Daltonganj and an NGO AFNC ( Adhikari Foundation For Nature Conservation ).
DFO core A K Mishra told the gathering which included tribals, primitive tribals like Korwas and others there that ‘ these blankets are not of the tiger reserve but have come to us from different benevolent people/institution to be given to you’.
A lady Sartaj Khanam and her husband Mehboob had pooled in 10 blankets while the retired accountant of PTR Gopal Verma and Somwati Educational Trust pooled in 10 and 25 blankets respectively. The NGO AFNC had a share of 25 blankets while Tiger & Nature Friends Society gave away ten blankets.
Forester Mani Pd Yadav and ranger Uma Shanker Singh had done the ground work first under the directive of DFO core A K Mishra wherein these two officials Yadav and Singh had a household survey to ascertain the need of the blankets.
All the eighty blankets were of good quality. Women got colourful ones while the males had to content with a coarse one but both the types of the blankets were of fine finish.
Sanichar Oraon could not turn up as he was sick and in bed. His blanket was given to his daughter in law Geeta Devi.
Among the 80 beneficiaries there were just two or three who put their signatures while the remaining ones used their trusted lTI ( left thumb impression).
None of the PTR officials made any beneficiary to undertake any vow under any compulsion rather right from DFO core to the forester the officials assured the villagers of Saidup core area that PTR is with them and for them and the gathering believed this version.
The Van Gashti Chowki of PTR is vastly different from the police one as here four personnel of PTR live a life of ancient days like no electricity, no tv , no recreation but silent trees and silent bushes keep them preoccupied here.
A K Mishra explained ‘We chose Saidup for blanket distribution here as last year here we had camera trapped the most rare of wild life Chousingha ( Four horned antelope) and for this the PTR is grateful to Saidup villagers for keeping this 4 horned antelope alive and kicking’.