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Save People, Save Tigers'

by Prakash Chandra
IN the man vs tiger battle in the biggest sanctuary in the Sunderbans regton of West Bengal, the threatened beast has won a reprieve.
Angry men and women were hunting tigers with po! zoned darts, pick axes and guns to avenge the deaths of more than 600 people who were kilted by the Royal Bengal tigers since the Sunderbans tiger project was set up in 1973.
In the Sunderbans. a vast forest area, 1.320 square kilo metres was declared out of bounds to locals. In another 2.585 sq km. restrictions were imposed on the move
ment of tribals And a 1.255 sq km area was marked as the buffer zone where fishermen, woodcutters and hone-collec tors could enter only with passes Issued by forest authorities.
Thousands of people lost their livelihood As a local off! clal explained. "Even the buffer zone was to small an area to provide anything substantial."
All this triggered a wave of anger against the "Save the Tiger" project and the animal threatened by angry tribals who saw the beast as a threat to Jobs and lives.
Millions of rupees were spent on projects to keep the people out of the liger sanctu ary Patrols moved around In motor boats to watch the locals. A wireless network was Installed to keep track of people and tigers. Despite these precautions, some 40 tigers were killed by the locals.
Then the number of tigers recorded an increase. It jumped from 181 in 1976 lo 269 In 1989. Naturally, the tigers began to stray into villages. Senior forest officials admitted that over a ten-year period between 1975 and 1985, 462 people were killed by tigers.
Local authorities asked villagers to wear masks to save themselves from tigers which had suddenly become man-eaters. The tigers never attack from behind so that a mask at the back of the head offered relative safety Fences were erected and linked with etec trie chargers so that the tigers would not stray Into human habitats. But even these steps proved Ineffective.
Angry villagers often at tacked the "Save the Tiger" headquarters and one assistant field director was beaten
Mr. Arin Ghosh, the field director of the "Save the Tiger" project, explains: "It took us about a year and a half to realise the crux of the
problem. No electric fences will save the tiger or the peo plc We have got to enlist the support of the local people. We have to do everything to improve the living conditions of the locals and provide them work".
After nearly two years of a reform plan, now a significant change has occurred In the tiger-human equation. Now Mr. Ghosh's slogan Is "Save People to Save Tiger."
Project officials have also built wooden fences at all the points where the forests and human habitation arc separated by shallow rivers. Per mananda Mahalo. a forestry officer, says: "We know that the wooden fences are not insurmountable barriers for a Royal Bengal Tiger. But some deter rent is better than no deterrent. Any breach in the fencing gives us the signal to tighten our vigil against straying tigers. "
Even angry villagers arc now pacified. Fifty-year old Anil Krishna Mandal says: "In the last three months we have lost seven of our neighbours. They were all killed by ligers." But even Mr. Mandal pointed out that the tiger project has been doing some good work.
For instance, officials have set up several prawn culture points. This was done with the help of village councils to discourage villagers from moving into jungles to collect prawn seedlings which fetch fabulous amounts.
The village councils pro vldcd the land and project authorities gave the money. Villagers have formed coop-1 cratlvc societies to make these projects viable. And the results are obvious.
According to Himanshu Mandal, secretary of a cooperative society, members can earn more than 2.500 rupees (U39200) annually after meet Ing all expenses. Fishermen don t have to go Into tiger-Infested jpngles and rivers to collect prawn seedlings.
Another step taken by the tiger project Is to stop the reckless felling of trees Now poor villagers are being provided with stoves. According to Kanchan Mukherjee, a'local official, 'it costs the authorities 100 rupees (US$8) to provide a stove to the local farmer. Some 1.300 stoves have been provided in about a dozen vli lagrs Next year the target is to set up 1.500 more stoves in other villages. The stoves use wood more efficiently, cutting down fuel wood consumption.
Officials had I he bright idea of insuring fishermen and farmers against tiger attacks. A farmer. Kalyan Chakravarty, had persuaded the Life Insu rance Corporation, a gov ernment owned company, to float policies among fishermen, woodcutters and honey collectors.
Recently. Julabst, the wife of a fisherman, received 15,000 rupees (US* 1.200) from the UC when her husband died of a snake bile. Amatendu Biswas, station off! rer at the Forest Office, says the premium for each quarter Is merely 12 rupees fUS*O 95)
Other development works haw included the sinking of wells lo provide drinking water. As there Is no electricity tn villages. project authorities have set up a solar-power lighting system — each costing 20.000 rupees (US* 1.600) — tn nine villages.
A non-governmental organisation (NGO). the Calcuttabased Institute of Climbers and Nature Lovers. Is providing medical service lo local tribals. A team of young volunteers, including young doctors, tour the Sunderbans area with medicines worth 50.000 rupees (US$4,000).
According to Bana Be hart Malty, who was elected as the best forest guard in 1983, free distribution of medicines and the presence of doctors have greatly helped, to change the attitude of villagers Earlier, no amount of persuasion could quell the anger of the tribesmen.
Forest officials have been forbidden lo shoot any tiger even if they have killed human beings. They have been advised to use a dart gun to tranquiltse the Royal Bengal Tiger, then put it in a cage and send it out of the sanctuary. Or release it In tiger country.
All this has helped to make the Sunderbans tiger project the best in the country
— Deplhnews Science