Head of the Forest Force (HoFF) cum Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) Shashi Nandkeolyar’s one day recent visit to National Park Betla in the wake of death of two bison there in the park has come as a shot in the arm of the officers and ground staff. They have to take on this challenge of providing better health to wildlife with renewed vigour and energy.
Sources said this Betla park is passing through a bad phase as a tigress died here earlier this year and before her death a few pigeons had died a miserable death.Sources said following national & regional media attention on these fatal occurrences in the park, its official hierarchy chose to shut down all communications to press men outside Betla or be cautious about what information goes out.
A senior forest official who had had his stint here said, “The present dispensation here at PTR takes everything too personal when they need to be objectively professional.”
Sources said HoFF is trying to melt this ice between the top hierarchy of PTR and outside media both print and electronic for the benefit of PTR as HoFF has gone on record saying “PTR is the pride of all and everyone is a stake holder of it.”
Sources said a team of park’s ground staff equipped with lime, alum and other tools are out cleansing water troughs in the park which numbers 35 alone in the park. Sources said the troughs are first de watered and its fungus removed and then across its periphery lime is sprinkled while the inside surface of the trough is washed with alum.
Sources said the death of two bison one on April 29 and May 4 prima facie appears to be due to some grave bacterial infection and as such water troughs and other water sources are on the radar of the park officials here motivation and direction for which came from HoFF Nandkeolyar to keep them safe and clean.Nandkeolyar said, “I have asked field director PTR Y K Das to get cleansed all water troughs first in the park with lime and alum. Since we cannot use any chemical for sanitization keeping in view the health of wild life here we are going for harmless but equally useful and effective disinfectant lime and alum here.”
HoFF agreed that a water trough in the park has multiple visitors from the huge bison and farmers’ buffaloes down to tiny squirrel and water birds as a result its water is bound to be turbid and sluggish for which Nandkeolyar said “ I have asked FD Y K Das to ensure that water troughs are refreshed every alternate day and no laxity in it will be any brooked.”
HoFF said he had taken with himself Ranchi zoo vet Ajay Kumar who too gave ample tips on the upkeep of health of wild life in this park.
Sources said villagers’ buffaloes are the main villain of the piece here so far turbidity/ sluggishness of water in the troughs is considered as buffaloes hardly fail to resist the temptation of water and love squatting right inside the trough.
D S Srivastava secretary of Nature Conservation Of Society an NGO said a buffalo that sits in water or wades through water leaves its body stink in water which is most repulsive to many wild life.