Tourists take priority over tigers in Uttarakhand

Conservation activists have made claims that since tiger reserves in Uttarakhand were reopened looking after tourists has become more important than looking after the tigers. While tigers are under threat of poaching tiger reserve rangers and their vehicles are tied up in buying and cooking food for the tourists.

A directive by the Corbett Tiger Reserve director, Ranjan Mishra, has ordered that forest rangers have to ensure that fresh food and provisions are available in forest lodges for visitors who stay in the park overnight. According to the NGO People for Animals, Uttarakhand member secretary Gauri Maulekhi this means that rangers are having to use forest vehicles to buy provisions and transport them around the lodges and that personnel who should be protecting tigers are in the markets bartering for food.

Maulekhi said, “One vehicle is provided to each ranger in Corbett for official rounds and ensuring safety and observance of rules in the national park but these vehicles are being used by rangers to buy perishables like vegetables, milk and rations for the eateries that they are being asked to run. The vehicles are occupied practically daily for fetching supplies while the rangers are negotiating with vendors instead of attending to their official duties.”

The order for forest rangers to look after the needs of the tourists is just one of a number of changes to the Corbett Tiger Reserve that is taking place or is due to take place now that the Supreme Courts have re-opened the core tiger reserves of India.

The Director of Corbett Tiger Reserve has ordered that those who wish to stay in the tiger Reserve overnight must book at least a 2 night stay. This new order has been objected to by many local tourist organisations as it makes staying in the reserve more expensive. However park officials say that this new order will reduce overcrowding in the park and the extra cost will ensure only serious tiger enthusiasts will stay overnight.

There are also plans in hand to install air quality monitoring equipment in the tiger reserve as air pollution is of major concern during busy periods. There are also plans to install sound monitoring equipment in the park to ensure that the tigers are not overly disturbed. Current noise pollution guidelines for the park should keep noise below 50 decibel but at busy periods noise levels in some parts of the tiger reserve can reach 65 decibel.

P K Joshi, Regional Officer of Uttarakhand Environment Conservation and Pollution Control Board has said that proposals for the round the clock monitoring have been submitted to the state government and the board is now just waiting for authorisation to start the work.

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