Tiger rush
Scientists and tiger conservationists believe that the Rajasthan Government has rushed into the tiger relocation project. The area for an enclosure for the airlifted tiger should have been as large as possible, a suggestion also made by the WII. However, in order to quickly construct the enclosures, two chain link enclosures of only a hectare each were made. Another concern was about tranquillising the animal in summer since this increases the body temperature. The relocation would have certainly been safer in the winters, says Tiger conservationist Ullas Karanath.
But the Rajasthan Government is at the fag end of its tenure and forest staff say that the pressure was high to move the tigers before the monsoon so that the Government, or so they say, could add another notch to its list of achivements. That’s the reason why the first tiger was flown in even during intermittent rainfall.
There are two highways that run through Sariska—State Highway 29A that goes from Sariska to Dausa, and State Highway 13 from Alwar to Jaipur. While the roads also ease accessibility for poachers, the second has a daily traffic of 2,000 vehicles. Way back in 2001, the NTCA gave the state a fund of Rs 3.5 crore to create a bypass for SH13. Though the bypass was built, there is no enforcement that makes it compulsory for vehicles to use it. One tiger has been killed earlier on this road, and other wild animals from the tiger reserve become roadkill even more frequently on this stretch.
When it was announced that the tigers were coming, there was a proposal that heavy vehicles be banned on this road. But the bone of contention seems to be Thanagazi, a tehsil close to Sariska. Shopkeepers and the local MLA, a Meena, are protesting that the closing of the highway to commercial vehicles will mean the end of their businesses.
“We are dependant on the road for our entire existence. We need to survive too. There is nothing else in Thanagazi except for these shops and this road,” says Himanshu Jain, a Thanagazi shopkeeper.
However, Chief Wildlife Warden R.N. Mehrotra asserts, “We will shut the highway to commercial trucks and heavy vehicles soon.”
How soon is soon? Insiders say nothing will be enforced this election year.

... contd.