Terai V: Katarniaghat

Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary: It’s an auspicious day in Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary, a part of Dudhwa Tiger Reserve. A truck arrived last night, carrying precious cargo—ghairals. That long-snouted extreme-looking crocodile that ranks amongst the most endangered animals on earth, with less than 200 breeding adults. These were 60 babies, reared at the Kukrail breeding centre in Lucknow, and are here to be released in the wild. We did that, with some ceremony on the banks of the river Girwa. Lifted the lid of the box, and watched them crawl, then swim—with some vacillation. It was, after all, their first taste of flowing waters—so essential to their survival—and freedom.This would not have been possible in Girwa less than five-years-back. Oh, there were gharials here —Girwa is amongst the three places in the country where gharials survive in fair numbers. But there was no new recruitment, the nests were raided, and the eggs stolen and eaten by the local villagers. “Not one survived,” informs Ajay Singh, a forest guard. It wasn’t just the gharials. The forest was under siege. Illicit felling and smuggling for wood was rampant, and backed by the timber mafia and local politicians. Permit to fell trees within the land-dwellings in an around the sanctuary were being used to illegally smuggle wood. The forest staff was involved and there were no less than 70 disciplinary proceedings against the staff. Poaching was the order of the day. Poachers used the local gun called bharoi-a shot is enough to stun an elephant. They would walk in from Nepal, and carry back their booty, even as the foresters watched. Evidently, signs of wildlife were rare. Game was being decimated for meat. And tigers…they were there. Very few, very shadowy- they were stalked..and killed-by man.Katarniaghat, at the time was a sanctuary that wasn’t. Then in 2005, the management changed. The park had a new director. This is not an ode to the purpose, and efforts of a leader, with his team. But is an attempt to record how with determination a ravaged forest can be turned around and made a haven. It is a lesson, a ray of hope. Circa 2009: I am in Girwa—a little upset that I had missed sighting the tiger-sighting, yet happy to see their signature-pugmarks of a mother and cub. A snout pops up besides us—to reveal another rare creature. Gangetic dolphins. Six of them, twirling around our boat. Ghairals line the bank, huge ones, tiny ones, male, female-about 60 in all. In the past five years, points out the boatman Ramroop,” the hatchlings have increased from nil to 27 nests in 2008. I cross over to trans-Girwa—to meet Panditji, who runs a ramshackle tea-shop. “His shop was toppled over by elephants,” says forester Ashfaq, with a hint of pride. The elephants are new entrants, as is the other pachyderm, the rhinoceros. Earlier occasional visitors from Nepal, now a few have taken refuge here from the insurgency which ravaged their forests. You could see a herd of 40 or so swamp deer-only found in this part of the world. And best of all—tigers were breeding—a sure sign of a healthy forest. In the recent All India Tiger Census, the camera recorded 20 different tigers in the sample size of 100 sq km—amongst the highest density of tigers in the world. How the turnaround was achieved is difficult to encapsulate in limited words, but one shall try. Wood permits were stopped, completely—there was a crackdown on timber smuggling, at the cost of threats to job, and life—after all the ‘business’ ran into an estimated 50 lakhs per day. The nexus with the police and the forest staff was broken. The staff was motivated, trained in wildlife, basic supplies like mosquito nets, jackets, shoes, vehicles for patrol etc were purchased. Tigers were constantly monitored, and a systematic method developed for the same. Grazing was stopped. Infiltration for feulwood, and poaching from the Nepal side was stopped with the help of the SSB. “Most importantly, we cracked down the tiger poaching gangs, the Bawarias who had been operating here for some years now, “ says Ramesh Pandey, former DFO, Katarniaghat. It was a February 2005 seizure of tiger skin and bones that provided the first clue. A network of informants was established. There were two more seizures, some arrests. A key poacher, Pratap confessed that they were here to kill tigers—to be supplied to Rani, the wife of Sansar Chand, the kingpin of wildlife trade. Investigations led to another key find that had ominous repercussions—the Bawarias were not just operating here in the Terai, but had spread their tentacles and were poaching in reserves across the country-as far as Periyar in Kerala, and in the North-east. “Simply put, strict protection with no compromises, effective management and leadership ensured that Katarniaghat thrived,” says Dabeer Hasan, Katarniaghat Welfare Society. Of course, threats persist in Katarniaghat. Primarily, the Central Seed Farm spread over 38 sq km in the heart of the reserve. A road and a railway line cuts through the reserve—and has caused fatal accidents-including two tigers in recent times. Most worrying, the slack in strict protection is slipping-cattle grazes freely, and we help drive away some ‘visitors’ here from across the border-with head loads of wood. Intelligence information is that poachers are waiting to strike and an alert has been issued from the MoEF for strict vigilance.That Katarniaghat contains nearly 40 tigers makes it significant enough, besides the fact that it is a critical connect between the Royal Bardia Park in Nepal, and Dudhwa. What makes this park special is that it contains within its compact 440 sq km endangered megafauna like the tiger, rhino, leopard, elephant, swamp deer, gharial, dolphins, mugger essentially representing all the flagship species of the Terai. You could say it is a mosaic of the Terai, as it once was, before the invasion of man. That it survives, inspite of all the odds is the result of the blood and toil, and sacrifice of many—and the legacy must carry on…Save Katarniaghat:• Remove the Central Seed Farm to free critical habitat for wildlife• Remove villages inside the sanctuary, especially Bhartapur, with the enhanced relocation package• Alternate routes for the railway line (which has been proposed), and the road• Trans-border vigilance, strict protection• Fill staff shortage, timely funds
Posted by prerna singh bindra at http://www.indianaturally.blogspot,com/

(Note: Ms Prerna Singh Bindra is one of the well known journalists/writers in the field of wildlife in our country. She recently covered extensively almost complete strech of Indian Terai, starting from Kalesa-Rajaji to Katerniaghat-Valmiki, and has very well written on all of these wildlife areas, regarding condition of the parks, vital issues, conservation initiatives, management constraints etc. which have got published in a series "Terai I to VI"(The Pioneer:New Delhi). The same is also available on her blog www.indianaturally.blogspot.com. The piece on Katerniaghat is being posted here for wider circulation.---Ramesh Pandey)