The Uttar Pradesh Forest Department has put the number of the deer as 700. According to Dudhwa National Park Field Director Rupak De, ``the land in question comprises 50 acres of revenue land, which forms part of the Kishanpur village. It is a compact block of forest, which the tiger reserve was in the process of acquiring, before it was allotted to the landless''.

The Kishanpur Sanctuary, along with the Dudhwa National Park (a 12 km stretch separates the two) was declared as tiger reserve in 1987-88. If the land under dispute had been acquired by the forest department 10 years ago, matters would not have reached such a point, according to World Wide Fund Tiger Conservation Programme consultant Usha Rai.

Cultivation in this area would lead to a strangling effect onthe wildlife here. As fodder in the forest diminishes, herbivores - in this case the endangered swamp deer - will begin to target fields for food. And close on the heels of the herbivores, will undoubtedly be the tiger. Out in the open, the chances for survival for both the deer and the tiger are down to a minimum. Poaching is a constant threat in the forest area, but in the fields the reason for killing can easily be pegged on crop protection.

The collector of the area, Sudhakar Rao, had apparently not consulted the Dudhwa officials before he signed on the pattas in July this year, despite the land's proximity to the forest. The forest department came to know of the situation only when the 27 began pressing their claim on the land.

Kishanpur villagers are up in arms at the forest department's efforts to reclaim the land. They reason that the land has been with the village for generations. It was only two years ago that the forest department allegedly began their ``harassment''. Warden P K Singh,who has since been transferred, apparently asked them for proof of ownership and after a long battle with the district authorities, the villagers finally have their pattas.

The pradhan of the 1,050-strong village is Vidya Devi and ``had gone visiting'', according to her sons Naresh Chand and Ashok Kumar. They are more than ready to do their mother's job in her absence. ``If the forest department thinks it can ask for a retraction of the pattas, that is impossible. You cannot give land to the poor and then snatch it away. They will have to give those poor people land elsewhere, and we are not going to stand and watch the village being divided,'' said Kumar, adding, ``if the government wants protection for jaanwar, it can jolly well move the entire village en bloc to land which is as fertile as this''.

The problems of living in a sanctuary seem to be finally catching up with the villagers. Every acre of the about 1,000-acre village has three watchposts where a round-the-clock vigil ismaintained to keep wild animals away.

``There is no water or electricity. To top it all, the forest department levies a charge of Rs 10 per jeep and Rs 6 per tractor. We are daily users of the forest roads. It is absurd to charge people for getting to their own house every day. This is apart from an embargo between sundown and sunset, when no vehicle movement is allowed in the forest. There is no provision when villagers fall ill,'' said Chand.

But Tota Ram, one of the 27 villagers who was given a patta, is not convinced with the argument of the Pradhan's sons. ``Shikaar awaidh hai'' (hunting is banned) is something he understands. He also remembers a time when his friend was orphaned after a tiger struck in the area in the 80s, when Dudhwa was infested with man-eaters. He does not mind being separated from his fellow-villagers if he is given land elsewhere.

And even as Field Director Roopak De expresses confidence in getting back the land, the tug-of-war between man and beast in thissmall village in the Terai region here is slowly reaching a breaking point.