A Samudayak Bagh Bachao Abhiyan has kick started in Garu range of Palamu tiger reserve. The campaign is of an NGO Nature Conservation Society (NCS) Daltonganj. It gained further impetus on Gandhi Jayanti.
Secretary of the NGO D S Srivastava said, “As our campaign’s first title is samudayik, which means community and thus PTR will now be taken care of by the villagers who will try to do all to save, preserve and conserve this rich heritage of the PTR.”
“Participatory management of PTR is all that I have been crying hoarse for it since 1990 as I have a strong conviction that officers, guards, trackers, rangers etc cannot deliver what PTR needs if people living in and out of the PTR are not engaged in its upkeep.” said Srivastava.
Asked that this community based drive to save tiger here has started at such a time when NTCA has already gone on record describing ‘zero’ tiger in this PTR just a few weeks back Srivastava said, “People will save protect and conserve jungle which is the house of the tiger. I have definitely given the word tiger in this drive but the real focus is people’s participation and its energy for wild life and its habitat.”
Reminded that he has often made claims that irrespective of zero figure of tiger in PTR as advanced by NTCA there are tigers in the PTR so does he mean to say that tigers of this reserve are holidaying in any forest rest house or tree house of PTR and are not preying but fasting to which Srivastava gave a point to point reply to these queries saying, “Yes I have claimed that there are three tigers in PTR. One I spotted just one tiger last month on the height of Mirchaiya. Our villagers also say.”
Asked if tigers are in PTR then there must be its pug marks, scats, prey, residue of prey etc to which Srivastava said, “I told PTR officials about one such pug mark but they did not believe my version. Villagers do not come complaining if their cattle are preyed by tiger in the core area where grazing is a punishable offence.” Sources said there is a piquant situation prevailing in PTR tiger or no tiger.