The Palamu Tiger Reserve (PTR) officials are going out to rope in more and more villagers to help maintain a better tiger reserve. Sources said that there are 175 plus villages in and around the PTR, three villages are right inside the tiger reserve. and the villagers collect dry wood for their fuel which disturbs the habitat.
According to the District forest officer core Premjit Anand, the officials are drawing a strategy to first improve the income generation of the villagers, so that their dependency on the reserve is diminished. The strategy is reportedly a multi-pronged one. First is to promote bamboo handicraft. The PTR has immense source of bamboos. Forthis reason the forest in the PTR is called deciduous forest. For this reason leaf fall is enormous here and where there is the leaf fall there is the risk of forest fire too.
Women are to be given skill and training to do bamboo handicraft said Anand. Again there is a proposal to convert Putrus (lantanae) grass into charcoal. This grass is most stubborn grass and is not relished by any wildlife. It grows in abundance in PTR. Anand said without causing any ecological imbalance these grasses can be put to use for chulhas in the villages.
The resude after converting Putrus into charcoal can be used again for agarbatti. However reminded that such a product coming from raw hands will have no marketing but these goods will be a big slump to which DFO Core said ‘ We too are thinking on this line as to how to do a marketing of these goods coming from women’.
Again reminded that today no one wears foot wear prepared by village cobblers instead even a poor wants to buy some factory fresh foot wear Anand said this is true. ‘ We have advertisements on tv screens for agarbatti . It can be understood as to how ours will be bought when such costly and well advertised incense sticks are around’. There is also a proposal to make village women learn stitching and embroidery. The PTR has good intentions but faces coughing up in its realisation said sources.