Staff crunch leads to closure of tiger reserve

Lack of staff in Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve may mean that tourists will not be able to visit the place this season.

Lack of staff in Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) may mean that tourists will not be able to visit the place this season. On Monday, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife) B Majumdar issued an order to close down TATR for tourists from November 25 onwards.

“We have only one Range Forest Officer (RFO) here since the past one year, instead of the required number of five. We have waited long enough for the posts to be filled up and had to take this decision,” Majumdar told The Indian Express. “We don’t have enough staff for conservation, protection, habitat management. I only hope this is a temporary phase,” he added.

A helpless Principal Secretary (Forest) J P Dange said, “What can we do if people are not joining here?”

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At the Maharajbagh zoo, meanwhile, the condition of the ailing tiger cub, who underwent blood transfusion on Sunday, was better, said S S Bawaskar, the doctor attending on her. This was also confirmed by wildlife activist Poonam Dhanwatey, who, along with her husband Harshavardhan, had rescued two cubs from the villagers at Mendki in Chandrapur district early this month.

Dhanwateys, who are implementing the special Forest Department project to control man-animal conflict that has claimed 42 lives around TATR in the past 34 months, suspect that the cubs’ mother may have been a victim of poaching. They believe that local politicians’ ‘hate campaign’ against tigers and leopards led to the Mendki-kind of situation.

Leading the agitation is BJP MLA Shobhatai Fadnavis, who is campaigning against the idea of creating a buffer zone around TATR, saying it will rob the villagers of their land and livelihood. Fadnavis said, “Where have these animals suddenly come from? Have they been brought here from west Maharashtra? If they come inside villages and kill people, shouldn’t the Forest Department do something? If they don’t, then the people will.”