Kutku range of PTR is a bit deficient in water management as here exists 18 water bodies, while there are 76 water bodies in Chhipdohar East range said M P Singh field director in a press briefing here in Betla today.
Singh said this range has Burha pahar and here undertaking any work be it for water conservation or for tiger tracking etc is to be done under permission of the security forces. Kutku has 18 water bodies while Chhipadohar West has 16 water bodies he said.
To a question that there is an imbalance in surface water management in North and South of the PTR Singh said the geo location of North division is not that prosperous in water management in comparison to South. He said efforts are on to have a balance in water management for which a 5 year plan of building check dams has been taken up and last year 68 were built in PTR.
He then referred to the death of the 4 year old male calf last week when he said the calf was one among the herd of 12 elephants in the Quila side and it makes us wonder as to how such a big herd stayed here in summer when elephants’ summer retreat is Bareysarn.
Singh went on to say there is our grass land in Teno in South division where sometimes we find 70 to 80 elephants rolling down on green grass and wading through sufficient water there at Teno water body.
On a question if the calf died of fever and the PTR officials did nothing to which Singh and Mishra said separately there is no mechanism anywhere in the country to read the fever of any wild life that too of elephant and hence no word as to whether the calf had fever or not. One other asked the calf died of heat stroke so what measures PTR has taken to prevent or save its wild life from heat stroke a bewildered Singh said, “Can’t tame or ask nature not to strike.”