Nagpur: On Friday at Kolara Gate about 100 visitors, including foreigners, have been detained by local Gypsy owners, whom the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) management has banned for their invasion of forest land in the reserve.
Kolara Gate close to Chimur is 115 kilometres from Nagpur, and therefore tourists mostly enjoy it. Visitors waiting at the gate at 6 am were caught out of the guard when the kin of 8 Gypsy owners blocked their entry.
TATR Conservative of Forests (CF) & Field Director, NR Praveen said, “They are 34 of our Gypsy owners, but we have banned their entry because they have invaded forest lands around Kolara and cultivated them for the past 4-5 years.” “Three months ago, we called on these local people to vacate the land they agreed upon provided that once they harvest a standing crop, we had requested it. They still have the forest land, however. We decided to ban them, therefore, “Praveen told TOI.
“You can’t have the best worlds of all. The fundamental objective of ecotourism is to pass on the benefits to these locals. The locals are destroying tiger property, their primary source of livelihood, instead of paying back to Tadoba. You want to take advantage of all the directions that are not possible. The ban will continue until they have decided to vacate the occupied forest land, “added Praveen.
“Such invasions have occurred in the last 3-4 years and are not protected by the Forest Rights Act, 2006. There are reports of residents sold their farms to resort owners and are now seeing forest land destroying them. This is despite the fact that local people are benefiting from various schemes, such as subsidized LPG access etc, “forest officials said to TOI.
Tourists expressed frustration over Gypsy owners ‘ actions. “Action against invaders is fine, but punishing tourists is really frustrating and gives the park a bad name, particularly if groups of visitors from abroad were present. There were no responsible officials on-site to handle the situation early in the morning, “said Devendra Jain of Nagpur.
“Tourists missed the 1.5-hour tiger sightings. The officers should in fact seek police assistance for damage control. Tourists pay for admission through their nose. Why should they suffer? Why should they suffer? The park has a full-service STPF battalion, which should have been summoned immediately, “added Jain.
Taken into consideration the incident, TATR agreed to exclude local residents with a criminal history of wildlife. “These guides, Gypsy owners, and temporary forestry workers (van majoors) will be reviewed. We will see if there are preliminary reports of offences against them before they are involved in the work. This will also include those who have crimes against invasions, “Praveen said.
The 12-year satellite imagery from February 2007-2019 shows a great deal of deforestation, rising and intrusion into the TATR landscape. A TATR survey last year also reported fresh intrusions in the buffer zone following the FRA cut-off date on 13 December 2005.
