Fwd: Wildlife sanctuary in a state of neglect

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cape india <capeindia1 wrote: Tue, 3 Jan 2006 21:41:24 +0530

cape india <capeindia1

jainvijayshri, jeevdaya04

Wildlife sanctuary in a state of neglect

 

 

Wildlife sanctuary in a state of neglect

 

Tribune News Service Hoshiarpur, January 2

Spread over 956 acres of forest land, the Takhani Rehmapur Wildlife Sanctuary,

15 km from here, has become a discarded baby of the Punjab Forest and Wildlife

Department for the past five years.

The discontinuation of feed by the department has forced the sanctuary inmates

to intrude into the fields in the surrounding villages. The scarcity of drinking

water inside the sanctuary has also been making the wild animals to stray into

the fields located on the peripheral area of their habitat.

The absence of any fence around the sanctuary, ill-equipped employees of the

sanctuary, damaged waterholes, defunct deep-bore water tubewells, rusting

wireless sets and motor cycle and non-operational fire extinguisher clearly show

the sheer negligent behaviour of the authorities towards the upkeep of the

sanctuary and preservation of wildlife.

Declared as a wildlife sanctuary in 1993, the state government has failed to

delimit the area. Confusion over its limits has virtually made the employees

posted here feel handicapped.

A majority of the sanctuary inmates that intrude into the nearby fields for

fodder and water often fell prey to poachers and farmers. Due to the ongoing

tug-of-war over the sanctuary area between the Forest and Wildlife Department

and five villages — Takhani, Rehmapur, Patiari, Matot and Mehangrowal —

villagers often intrude inside the forest area and chop off vegetation for

fodder for their cattle.

Villagers often indulge in arguments with the sanctuary employees when stopped

from entering inside. Taking the plea that the sanctuary inmates often destroy

their crops, the farmers enter the sanctuary area and when stopped they even

fight with the employees, complained Wildlife Inspector Mr Tarsem Lal.

A visit by The Tribune team to the sanctuary found that cracks had developed

in the waterholes and there was no water in any of them. A submersible pump was

missing from its place and an overhead water tank had gathered weed.

A shed constructed for feeding wild animals and birds was in a shambles.

The defunct wireless sets had gathered fungus and the fire extinguishers were

outdated, while the motor cycle provided to the employees for patrolling in the

forests, was rusting.

Mr R.R. Kakkar, Divisional Forest Officer, Hoshiarpur, admitted that the

sanctuary could not be fenced due to financial crunch. The state government had

suspended financial grants to the sanctuary that had affected the feeding of

animals adversely. He, however, claimed that the sanctuary had a proper

earmarked area.

Mr Kakkar said that wild animals stray into surrounding villages in winter and

mating seasons, as males chase away the weaker ones from their territory for

their dominance during mating seasons.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060103/punjab1.htm#3

 

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for CAPE-India

M.Lodha

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr.Sandeep K.Jain

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