Anupma Khanna | Dehradun

Religion and nature are one, both being delicate manifestations of the same God, it is said. However, it is not very often that one witnesses as powerful a show of the gospel as around the shrines abutting the Ramganga in Uttarakhand; where people’s absolute faith in Hinduism is saving a magnificent life form from getting wiped out forever.

In what is remarkable, Hindu temples dotting the river in Pauri and Nainital have become isolated sanctuaries protecting the mighty, but threatened, golden mahseer from ruthless illegal fishing methods by the locals. Mahseer is a prized freshwater species having high culinary demand in the Ramganga region.

Consequently, fishing pressure is acute and despite having been declared endangered by the National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources 18 years ago, it continues to be massacred through explosions, electrocution and poisoning.

However, amidst this bustle are stretches of the Ramganga where the mahseer thrives, protected against all illegal fishing methods. Be it the famous Garjia shrine, the ancient Baijnath or the array of smaller austere temples, these holy places have become isolated sanctuaries for the endangered fish. The priests of these shrines have prohibited fish catching in the area and its absolute reverence among natives makes the mahseer flourish even in the absence of any official guard.

“Hinduism is the essence of our lives. And at the core of Hinduism is valuing every creation of God. Therefore, true divine service is in protecting the being as opposed to offering prayers while taking lives. This is the philosophy underlying angling prohibition near temples. The golden mahseer is a marvel of nature and we must not let it die,” elaborated priest Shiv Prasad in a conversation with The Pioneer.

As reiterated by Corbett-based wildlife conservationist Sumantha Ghosh, “It is amazing to perceive the intangible, outlasting sway of spirituality in causing behavioural changes. The mahseer is a highly-valued food fish among the bucolic locals. However, the same people do not touch the fish in these spots because of the religious underpinnings, forcing the mahseer to find sanctuary in isolated pools next to temples.”

The phenomenon clearly establishes that the reigning centrality of divine faith to the Hindu way of life accords a strong sway to religious leaders in rendering mindsets, making them one of the most potent harbingers of grassroots activism.

As emphasised by artist Smita Rathor in a conversation with The Pioneer, “Given India’s socio-cultural setting, eco-feminism and an emotional connect are the most sustainable approaches to environment conservation. In India, theism is sacrosanct. The success of these temples has significant connotations and must be replicated throughout the country.”

However, the golden mahseer may still be wiped out. As warned by Dr Shiv Kumar of Wildlife Institute of India, during monsoons the larger, adult mahseers migrate upstream for spawning and are massacred. Reiterating the same, Misty Dhillon, proprietor of the Himalayan Outback near Marchulaa lamented, “Protected areas comprising the Corbett and temple vicinities will not be effective unless something is done about the slaughtering of mahseer when they migrate to breed.”

River resources of the area are controlled by the forest department but ‘no patrols are being carried out to monitor the river and nothing is in place to stop the damage being done’, admonishes a recent study undertaken by a local NGO in collaboration with Wildlife Institute of India.

The study has found that dynamites are being used all along the river every day, killing everything in the vicinity of the blast with fry, fingerlings and other aquatic species often being a part of the discarded by-catch. Also rampant are bleaching, electrocution and snares. Compounding these direct threats are excessive sand mining and over extraction of water destroying aquatic habitat.

Mining is particularly intensive on the Gagas, a tributary of the Ramganga that runs through Bhikasain. Here, families are reported to mine sand from the river bed every day for jeeps and trucks to collect and transport to the market, dramatically altering the natural flow of the river and causing a crater effect with banks of discarded gravel and pools of stagnant water. Forty kg of sand is being sold for `20.

Clearly, a lot needs to be done — and done quickly. For barely a distance from the protected precincts of the Corbett National Park, one is appalled by the deterioration of the fragile ecosystem that is pushing many exotic life forms to the brink of disappearance. Yet, there may be no denying that the voluntary temple sanctuaries by the Ramganga have many a lesson to inspire.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First of all, On behalf of the Institute of Hotel Management, Pusa, New Delhi, we wish toextend our heartfelt gratitude to Shri Sujit Banerjee, Secretary, Shri Sanjay Kothari,Additional Secretary (T) and Shri Devesh Chaturvedi, ADG (T) Ministry of Tourism,Government of India for giving the opportunity to the institute to conduct the audit/ survey ofhotels, lodges, resorts, camps and guest houses in and around Corbett National Park,Uttarakhand.

We take this opportunity to convey our sincere thanks to Shri Rajiv Bhartari, AdditionalSecretary, Tourism, Government of Uttarakhand for providing guidance, logistic support andmodalities to conduct survey.

We would like to thank Dr. Prabhaker Dubey, Director and Smt. Dhiraj Bhalla, Asst. DG,Ministry of Tourism for coordinating the survey.

We also extend our sincere thanks to Mr. Mandeep Singh, President, Mr. Toby Sinclair, Vice President, and all other officials of ‘Eco Tourism Society of India’ for providing valuable information to the survey team and inviting them to attend workshop on “Environment Laws and Sustainable Tourism”. We would also like to thank to Mr. Abhishek Behl, TOFT IndiaWildlife Association and Ms. Prenra Bindra, eminent Wildlife Journalist for their inputs for the survey.

We would like to express our thanks to all the people at TRH/ TRC who made our stay very pleasant and comfortable and for all their hospitality extended to us.

We sincerely thank all the media people who have given a lot of publicity by covering the survey for so many days.

SUMMARY

Background of the survey – Keeping in mind the recent spate of tiger mortality, the Ministry of Tourism under the leadership of Shri Sujit Banerjee, Secretary, Shri Sanjay Kothari, AST) and Shri Devesh Chaturvedi, ADG (T) has taken an initiative to conduct an audit/ survey of all the lodging establishments in and around Corbett National Park.

Aim & Objectives of the survey- The main objective of the audit/ survey was to study theimpact of tourism, with specific reference, to lodging establishments on environment and wild life of the National Park.

Methodology used – A Questionnaire was used to collect data from all resorts, hotels, camps, odges and guest houses in and around Corbett National Park by the team consisting of 10students under the guidance of 2 faculty members from Institute of Hotel Management, Pusa,New Delhi (IHM Pusa).

Findings & Inference – 77 existing resorts/ hotels and 17 under construction were surveyed where 1421 rooms and 3197 beds are present in existing resorts/ hotels. Some of the findings include 69% rooms are AC, 48% owners are locals, 71.4% resorts are less than 5 years old, 19.4% use solar energy, 37.6% resorts segregate waste and only 10.3% are having eco riendly building.

Areas of Concern – Concrete buildings, heavy vehicular traffic, no proper waste segregation & disposal, loud music/ DJ, no proper water supply, excessive camp fire and other activities are some of the areas of concern.

Recommendations & Suggestions – Ban on concrete buildings, proper guidelines for construction, camp fire, playing music and organizing conventions and concerts in open is recommended. It is suggested to reduce the number of vehicles, to lay water and drainage pipelines, to collect and dispose or recycle dry waste by local body or cooperative of resorts. Eco awareness drives, announcing awards and survey of other reserves should also be done.

Annexure – Media Coverage & Questionnaire 

BACKGROUND OF THE SURVEY

Sariska was declared tiger-less in 2004 and now the news of Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh having lost all its tigers is very alarming given the small number of wild tigers that remain today. What is even more disturbing are the signals suggesting that there could be several other Tiger Reserves in a similar situa

The recent spate in tiger mortality reported from across the country has left most conservationists wondering about the future of tigers in the country. Till 4  September 2009  the over 61 tigers death have been reported in the year. (Source: TRAFFIC India, WWF Panda) Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand is one of the oldest Tiger Reserves where the tigers are under threat. A rough estimate says that there are162 tigers in Corbett National Park. 11 tiger deaths have been reported in Corbett National Park in 2009 out of which 2 tiger deaths were noticed within 10 days in the month of December only.  Increased tourism activity may be one of the reasons for human-wild life conflict, habitat degradation and illegal wild life trade of which the tiger is a victim. Mushrooming of lodges, camps, resorts, hotels and guest houses in and around Tiger Reserves is leading to more vehicular traffic, water and air pollution, encroachment of the wild life space, hindrances to wild life movement, threat to the survival of tigers and other wild life.

This necessitated the study of the impact of tourism especially of accommodation establishment on wild life and to develop guidelines for responsible tourism with specific reference to Wild Life Sanctuaries and National Parks. Ministry of Tourism, Government of India under the leadership of Mr. Sujit Banerjee, Secretary, Mr. Sanjay Kothari, Additional Secretary (T) and Mr. Devesh Chaturvedi, ADG (T) has taken an initiative to conduct an audit/ survey of hotels, lodges, resorts, camps and guest houses in and around Tiger Reserves across the country.  Corbett National Park has been taken as a pilot project for the audit/ survey. Institute of Hotel management, Pusa, New Delhi has been assigned the task of doing audit/ survey on behalf of Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. tion.

AIM

To study the impact of tourism with specific reference to accommodation on wild life and environment in Tiger Reserves/ National Parks of India to frame guidelines for responsible tourism.

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the survey are as follows-

01. To list all the establishments providing accommodation in and around Corbett National Park.

02. To identify the number and types of rooms available.

03. To find out various services and facilities provided by these establishments.

04. To identify various activities undertaken by these establishments.

05. To find out the status of vehicular use by their establishment.

06. To find out the sources of energy used by these establishments.

07. To find out the sources of water supply used by these establishments.

08. To find out the sources of purchasing consumables and durables for their establishments.

09. To identify the waste disposal methods used by these establishments.

10. To find out the employment generation for the locals.

11. To identify their contribution towards environment and community.

12. To assess the impact of these establishments on wild life and eco system of the National Park.                             

METHODOLOGY

Questionnaire

A questionnaire was used for the survey. The questionnaire consisted of the questions related to general information about the ownership, property details, staff, community services, room tariff, hygiene & sanitation standards, eco-friendliness, their contribution towards community and environment, and number of tourist arrivals.

Informal discussions with experts, tourists, gypsy & taxi drivers, forest officials and other concerned people were also done by the survey team.

The survey team also had meetings with the officials of The Corbett Foundation, an NGO and Swedish Prof. Emil Uddhammar, Linnaeus University, Sweden. Ms. Frederique Lacraz  French Vulture Conservationist  also shared her views with the team .

Survey Team

The team from IHM Pusa comprised of the following-

2 faculty members – R K Gupta, Meenakshi Sumbly and

10 students – Mohit (M. Sc. HA-Previous), Abhas, Nitish, Prateek, Sandeep,

Srikanth, Vinod, Veeransh (B.Sc. 2 Year),  Aditi and Ramandeep (B.Sc. 1 Year).

Sample

All the hotels, lodges, resorts, camps and guest houses in various tourism zones of Corbett National Park were surve

Areas Covered

The areas covered in the survey were

Semal Khalia, Sawaldey, Dhela in the southern side of the park,

Aamdanda, Ringoda, Dhikuli, Garjia in the eastern side and

Mohan, Kumeria, Bhakrakhot, Marchula in the north-east side of the park.

Dhikala , Jamoon, Ramnagar, Kyari and Bailparav areas were also covered in the

survey.

Period of Survey

Total 7 days from 16  December 2009 to 22  December 2009 were used for survey. This

included travel from/ to Delhi.

FINDINGS

A. GENERAL INFORMATION

01. Total Number of Hotels/ Lodges/ Resorts/ camps/ Guest Houses surveyed

Zone wise distribution is as follows -

* Survey not done.         U.C.= Under Construction

** At planning stage at Patkot

02. Number of Rooms

03. Types of Rooms

04. Forms of Ownership (for existing properties)

05. The owner is Local resident

06. The owner of the hotel is also the land owner

07. The land owner is Local resident

08. The General Manager/ Resort Manager is Local Resident

09. Project in operation

INFERENCES

01.  Total 94 (98%) hotels, lodges, resorts, camps and guest houses in and around Corbett National Park were surveyed. Out of which 77 are in operations at present and 17 at different stages of under construction. There were 2 hotels at Pirumadara and 1 at Chorpani which could not be surveyed. There are 5 hotels at planning stage at Patkot .

02.  There are 1421 rooms available at present providing 3197 number of beds. In 3 more hotels (not surveyed) there are 26 rooms and 52 beds available.   There are approximately 270 rooms or 540 beds will be available in the year of 2010 in 22 under construction or planned to be constructed resorts.

03.  At present 980 (69%) rooms available are in AC category while rest of the rooms are air cooled or Non AC.   The maximum rooms are 1134 (79.8%) available in Double/Twin category and 120 (08.44%) available in the form of Tents

04.  In the case of ownership, 48 (62.3%) owners are having proprietorship form of ownership, 14 (18.1%) are of partnership and another 14 (18.1%) are franchisee, chain or management collaboration.

05.  Only 37 (48%) owners are the Local Resident of the area and 21 (27.2%) owners are not local resident. 19 (24.6%) owners did not specify.

06.  Only 33 (42.8%) owners of the resorts/ hotels also own the land and in 17 (22%) cases the owners of the resorts/ hotels and the land owners are different. 27 (35%) owners did not specify.

07.  Only 40 (51.9%) land owners are the local resident while 11 (14.2%) land owners did not specify.

08.  Only 47 (61%) General Managers/ Resort Managers are Local Resident while 25 (32.4%) are not.

09.  55 resorts (71.4%) started their operations within 05 years and another 17 resorts  have to start their operations during the year 2010. Only 7 (9%) resorts are more than 10 years old.

10.  Most of the resorts 45 (58.4%) are on the bank of River Kosi while Dhikala FRHs and Hideaway Riverside are inside the park.

11. Dhangadi gate is the most used entrance for the nation park which is the nearest to most of the resorts (59) also.

12.  The agriculture land is the most converted into resort construction as 55 (71.4%) resorts are constructed on agriculture land.

13.  The accessibility to these resorts/ hotels is mainly pucca road made up of concrete (36.3%) or bitumen (24.6%).

14.  The resorts/ hotels are spread over areas ranging from 2 bighas to 16 acres (256 bighas) and the covered area ranging from 25% to 60%.  (1 bigha = 2529.3 sqmt)

15.  The resorts/ hotels have the boundary made up of wall in 26 (33.7%) and wire in 24 (31.1%) cases while there are 8 (10.3%) resorts which have wall and wired fencing both. There are 04 resorts (05.1%) not having any boundary while 3 (3.8%)  resorts (including Dhikala) have solar fencing.

16.  There are 9 (11.6%) resorts which offer tented accommodation out of which 2 camps provide exclusively tented accommodation. On the other hand majority of them i.e. 49 (63.3%) are offering mixed accommodation and there are 12 (15.5%) resorts which have constructed cemented rooms only.

17.  There are 72 (93.5%) resorts which have the restaurants, 19 resorts (24.7%) have conference and banquet halls, and even 20 (25.9%) resorts have swimming pool and 4 (5.1%) resorts have discotheque.

18.  54(70.1%) the resorts organize events such as wedding party, New Year/ Christmas party, concerts or any other party.  A total number of 55 (71.4%) resorts organize camp fire and 60 (78.7%) resorts organize park visits.  8 resorts (10.3%)orgaized events in hall, 18 resorts (23.3%) in open and 28 resorts (36.3%) organize events in hall and in open as well.

19.   These resorts/ hotels own 49 safari jeeps. Out of these 47 jeeps have front facing seats while only 2 have side facing seats.   37 jeeps use petrol while 12 run on diesel.  Out of these only 3 have comprehensive insurance, 8 third party insurance and remaining 38 did not answer the question.  67 (87%) resorts/ hotels hire vehicles as and when they require while only 5 (6.4%) resorts/ hotels never hire vehicles.

20.   Only 41 (53.2%) resorts/ hotels have fire extinguishers, 3 (3.8%) have sand buckets to douse fire while 33 (42.8%) resorts/ hotels do not have any fire safety measures.  In the case of only 25 (32.4%) resorts/ hotels the staff is being trained in fire fighting. 37 (48.1%) resorts have more than 1 exit while 40 (51.9%) resorts have only 1 exit.

21.  There are 3 (3.8%) resorts/ camps which do not use any electricity while 74 (96.1%) resorts use supply from  UESB. There are 60 (77.9%) resorts which use electricity from UESB and generators both.  Out of the generators used 58 generators are diesel operated while 12 are petrol  ones. 42 generators are the noisy and 27 are silent generators.  Only 15 (19.4%) resorts/ hotels use solar energy mostly in heating water.  36 (46.7%) resorts use CFL bulbs in public areas, 49 (63.6%) in rooms and 34  (44.1%) in service areas.   67 (87%) resorts use gas as kitchen fuel and only 20 (25.9%) resorts/ camps use  wood as kitchen fuel. Out of which 17 (85%) use their own land for wood.  38 (49.3%) resorts illuminate their buildings regularlyduring night and 6 (7.7%)  occasionally.

22.  Maximum number of resorts 42 (54.5%) use bore well as a source of water  supply, than 35 (45.4%) from municipal council and 5 (6.4%) use river as a  source of water supply.   Only 42 (54.5%) resorts/ hotels use their own water treatment or R.O. treatment  otherwise all of them use bottled or mineral water for drinking purposes.  The resorts/hotels filter or chemically treat water to use in swimming pool.

23.  Local purchases are done by 75 (97.4%) resorts/ hotels for consumables and by  66 (85.7%) resorts/ hotels for durables.

24.  Only 29 (37.6%) resorts/ hotels segregate waste into dry or wet waste and only 27  (35%) into biodegradable or non-biodegradable.

34 (44.1%) resorts/ hotels use municipal body to dispose off their dry or kitchen  waste, 24 (31.1%) resorts dump and another 20 (25.9%) resorts even burn the dry  waste.  A majority of the resorts i.e. 52 (67.5%) use pits ( soktas ) to dispose off wet  waste.

25.  There are 185 Managers working in these resorts/hotels. Out of these 125  (67.5%) are locals, 133 (71.8%) trained and 36 (19.4%) have qualification from  hospitality institute.   The staff strength of these resorts/hotels is 1779, out of which 1423 (79.9%) are  locals, 899 (50.5%) are trained and only 14 (0.78%) are qualified from some  hospitality institute.  There are 33 naturalists working with resorts out of which only 02 are qualified.  26.  In the case of community service, 19 (24.6%) resorts/ hotels claim that they  undertake some conservation projects, 17 (22%) participate in educational  projects mostly by giving donations to schools and another 17 (22%) contribute  in some of the local projects.

27.  Room tariff of these resorts/hotels varies from Rs. 200/- to Rs. 20,999/-. As there  is business for 6 months only their rates fluctuate very much.

28.  General standards of hygiene, sanitation and upkeep of most of the resorts/ hotels  ranges from OK to Good bearing a few.

29.  Regarding eco friendliness of these resorts/ hotels/ lodges/ camps/ guest houses  situated in and near Corbett National Park-   Only 8 (10.3%) resorts/ hotels claim to have eco friendly building.  19 (24.6%) resorts/ hotels have energy Management System.  Only 4 (5.1%) resorts/ hotels have Water Recycling System.  10 (12.9%) resorts/ hotels use recycled material.  26 (33.7%) resorts/ hotels train their staff for eco friendliness.  Only 20 (25.9%) resorts/ hotels have written guidelines for the tourists or their  staff.

AREAS OF CONCERN

There are some camps/ resorts/ hotels e.g. Camp wild Adventure in Ringoda , Jim Jungle  Retreat in Dhela , Camp Fork Tail Creek in Bhakrakhot etc. which are operating with no or  minimum damage to the environment and wild life. They are taking all eco friendly measures  to protect eco system of the area.   On the other hand most of the hotels/ resorts are just operating for commercial purposes and  not taking care of the wild life and environment.  After collecting data from hotels/ resorts, observation made by the survey team and having  interactions with concerned people, the following areas of concern have been identified by  the survey team-

01. Construction of Building

71.4% existing hotels/ resorts are concrete structures and most of the resorts under  constructed are also of the same type.  Felling of trees, consuming agricultural or forest land and use of non eco friendly  material in the construction of these are causing a serious threat to the environment as  well as wild life.

02. Blocking of Corridor area

Mushrooming of resorts from Ramnagar to Mohan has blocked 35 km. stretch of wild  life moment from park to Kosi river.

03. Heavy Vehicular Traffic -

As there are almost 100 hotels/ resorts and all of them having their personal and  commercial vehicles and most of the tourists coming to the area are also mobile, the vehicular traffic near Corbett National Park is increasing day by day.  According to information provided by resort managers and gypsy/ taxi drivers, there are 250 to 300 private gypsies operating in the area during the season.  These large numbers of vehicles are contributing to

a.  air pollution

b.  noise pollution

c.  hindrance in the movement of animals

d.  invasion of the privacy of animals

e.  increased possibilities of accidents

f.  even over-charging the tourist

04. No proper Waste Disposal

Majority of the hotels/ resorts (62%) do not segregate waste as dry and wet waste or  biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste.   These hotels/ resorts claim that they dispose off dry/ paper/ plastic waste by dumping  at Ramnagar Municipal dumping site or by selling it to kabari-wala but it is observed  by the survey team that most of the hotels are just throwing the waste in any vacant  space or corners and some of the hotels even burning this waste near river side.     The hotels/ resorts across Kosi and Ramganga rivers claim that they have pits ( soktas )  / tanks for wet waste but it was observed by the survey team that some of these  hotels/ resorts are disposing wet waste into the rivers only. These hotels are disposing  even chemically treated water from swimming pool to the river.

This again contributing to

a.  air pollution

b.  water pollution

c.  unhygienic & poor sanitary conditions

d.  health risk for the animals and aquatic life

e.  health risk for the locals.

05. Loud Music/ DJ parties

Barring few hotels and resorts, most of these are organizing parties with DJ or loud  music in open. Wood Castle hotel in Garjia , for the example, was organizing 3-day  music extravaganza during the survey.

This leads to

a.  noise pollution

b.  disturbance to the privacy of wild life

c.  creating panic amongst animals

d.  cultural conflict with the villagers.

06. Lighting during nights

Some of the hotels/ resorts have erected large electronic boards and signages which  are illuminated during the night.

The excessive use of lights during night causes

a.  distraction in the movement of the wild life

b.  disturbance in the sleep of the animals & birds

c.  nuisance to natural beauty.

07.  Water supply

All of the hotels except which are located in Ramnagar where the Municipal Water supply exists, are depending upon bore well, river or springs as a source of water  supply.  The water from bore well and river is being contaminated by the waste water drained  into pits ( soktas ) or river.

This may be causing

a.  health risk to wild life

b.  health risk to locals

c.  soil infertile.

08.  Licensing

It seems that there is no controlling authority as more and more number of hotels/  resorts are coming up in the area. It is evident with the fact that in last 5 years 50 new  hotels or resorts have been started. There are 22 new resorts are being constructed or  planned to start operations during 2010.  Looking at the mushrooming of these resorts in the area, it seems that permission for  change of land use and clearing of building designs and construction, and licenses  from municipal council, police, fire and health department are not being properly  used.

09. Wired Fencing

Some of the resorts have wired or cemented fencing which may cause injuries to the  wild life during their movement specially across river.

10. Camp Fire

Almost all the resorts are using camp fire for the tourists. The source of wood, as per  their claim, is local market, villagers etc. Only one resort (Camp Fork Tail Creek,  Bhakrakhot ) is using wood as fuel in the kitchen which they say buying from forest  department.

The burning of wood leads to

a.  air pollution

b.  health hazards

c.  risk of fire

d.  illegal cutting or pruning of tress.

11. Fishing

Illegal fishing and angling is being done in the area. It is found by the survey team  that in one resort (Infinity), tourists are being charged Rs. 75/- to show mahasheer

fish.

12.  Case of Resort at Jamund

There is one resort- Hideaway Riverside owned by Leisure group of hotels located at  Jamund. The status of this resort is supposed to be controversial.  It is claimed by the resort manager (available at the time of survey) that it is on  village land while according to officials this resort is within the park area.  The approach road to the resort is through Durga Devi entrance of the park. The road  is up to Ramganga river and after that the resort people have made their own road.  Every person or vehicle has to cross river as there is no bridge.

Near the river some area is cleaned and locals say that there is planning to construct a  new resort.

13. Case of Dhikala

No Smoking Zone

Dhikala , undoubtly the best place within park for tourism point of view, is a No  Smoking Zone but tourists and locals were smoking without any hitch as observed by  the survey team. 

Garbage Dump

It seems that the park authorities are not taking proper care in garbage disposal. A  dump of garbage containing plastic wrappers, bottles etc. was noticed by the survey  team near toilet block of dormitory.

Speed of Gypsies

During the stay of survey team at Dhikala over speeding of safari jeeps was noticed.

14. No claim for the tourists

One area which has to be looked for tourists’ point of view is their safety. Park  authority started a scheme to convert private gypsies into taxis few years back but  only 15-16 operators converted their vehicles into taxis. Rest of the private gypsies  about 250* or so are being used to ferry tourists or for safari purpose.   (* Actual data of this may be collected from concerned state body)  In the case of any accident or mis-happening, no tourists can claim any damages from  these private operators.

Secondly, mostly of the resorts across river the touristsare allowed to take bath in the  river and resorts organize camp fire and music to entertain the tourist on the bank of  river. This is a great risk to the tourists and wild life also.

RECOMMENDATION & SUGGESTIONS

Keeping in mind the objective of audit/ survey, the team gives the following  recommendations or suggestions-

01.  Ban on Construction of the Concrete Buildings

There must a blanket ban on the construction of cemented buildings in the area.

02.  The number of vehicles in the area may be restricted

a.  There must be luxury bus/ Volvo service from Delhi etc. in order to reduce the  private cars used by the tourists to reach National Park.

b.  The frequency of train service to Ramnagar and availability of luxury births in  trains should be increased.

c.  Private gypsies operating in the area may be counseled to convert their vehicles  into taxis with proper license and insurance.

d.   The number of these taxis should be limited.

e.  Some kind of pre-paid system for the taxis/ gypsies should be encouraged.

03.  Waste Disposal

A. Ramnagar Municipal Council or other concerned local authority should  develop a system of garbage collection and disposal.

a.  This body should collect the dry and wet/ kitchen waste from all the  resorts/ hotels daily.

b.  The dry waste may be disposed at one particular dumping site or recycled.

c.  The kitchen waste should be used as fodder or in the preparation of  compost/ manure.

d.  The resorts/ hotels may be charged for garbage collection and recycled  material and manure could be sold by the body.

B. A drainage system may be developed by the Municipal Body specially on the  river side and a water treatment plant can be installed to treat & recycle waste  water.

Alternative : The resorts/ hotels may be encouraged to install water treatment  plants before disposing. The state bodies may provide technical and financial  assistance to the owners.

04. Ban on playing music/ DJ parties

Stringent ban on playing music, organizing concerts, conferences, DJ parties in open  should be implemented.

05. Ban on Plastic Bags, Plastic water bottles etc.

06. Ban of Lighting during nights and on Electronic Boards

The illumination of buildings during nights and use of electronic signages/ boards  should be stopped. A policy may me framed to use only simple boards and signages.

07. Water Supply

A number of resorts/ hotels are situated on river belt running parallel to the main road  (NH 121). A pipe line may be laid by the Municipal body for at least these resorts/  hotels, if possible.

08. Fencing of Resorts

The resorts/ hotels may be asked to use only temporary or fragile or shrub fencing  instead of cemented or brick one.

09. Ban on Activities/ Event Management

Activities such as camp fire, angling, concerts etc. should be banned and ban should be implemented strictly.

10.  Eco Awareness Drive

Although Forest Department, Uttarakhand Tourism and some NGOs are conducting  eco-awareness drives but a little more emphasis should be given to educate locals,  people working in tourism sectors in the area and tourists visiting the park in respect  of eco-friendliness, protection of environment and conservation of wild life.   The resorts/ hotels may be involved in social, community and environment oriented  programmes and may be encouraged to contribute in the service of society, local  community and conservation of flora and fauna of the area.

11. Awarding the most eco-friendly resort/ hotel

Some kind of Awards may be announced by Ministry of Tourism (GOI), Uttarakhand  Tourism or Forest Department for the most eco friendly resort/ hotel for the  contribution in protection and conservation of environment and wild life.

12. Audit / Survey of other National Parks/ Reserves

Similar audit/ survey of other 5 National Parks/ Reserves may also be conducted to  frame guidelines.

1 June 2010 was the official start of Mahseer Conservancy’s 2010/2011 vulture programme.  The following report is a summary of the work undertaken during the July 2010 period.  This report is the second of a series of monthly reports will be made throughout the year.

1.      Monitoring of vulture colonies

Ringora Village

Elsa Legrand was joined by Irena Glatzle in July, allowing them to extend the hours that they spend monitoring at Ringora.  Their monitoring hours are now 5.30am – 8.30am, and 3.00pm – 6.00pm.

The birds are still head drooping, but it seems to have lessened with the onset of monsoons (from 40% in June to around 25% in July), and the cooler weather.  However, the colony is still under constant monitoring, and we are still prepared to act should another bird drop from the tree (this has not happened during July).  It is interesting to note that Irene has observed more birds head drooping in the mornings than Elsa has, possibly a result of the later monitoring hours that she keeps (Table 2 below).

The following tables are a summary of Elsa and Irene’s observations at the Ringora Vulture colony for July 2010:

Table 1:Overall results for July Ringora colony monitoring

Table 2: Morning results for July Ringora colony monitoring

Table 3: Evening results for July Ringora colony monitoring

Tumeria Village

A visit to Tumeria by Nicola Addison, Elsa Legrand, Irena Glatzle, Dewan Singh and Abdul Rehman on 12 July 2010 found three nests and eight birds.  The number of nests found in Tumeria Village is likely to be higher, but finding nests is difficult given the amount of foliage on the Sal trees during this time.

We still intend to carry out structured monitoring of the Tumeria colony, this will hopefully start in August as we have engaged more field assistants and therefore have more man-power.

Photo 1: Nest with juvenile in Tumeria Village

Photo 2: Indian White Back Vulture in Tumeria Village

2.      Ban of the ‘over the counter’ sale of Diclofenac

We are currently consulting with relevant experts on how best to proceed with our drive to ban over the counter sales of Diclofenac.

3.      Diclofenac Awareness Campaign

Diclofenac presence surveys

Lalit Negi has been covering areas close to Ramnagar town, conducting Diclofenac surveys, and distributing campaign posters and leaflets. In July, he covered the following villages:

• Tumeria Dam
• Dhela Village
• Savalde Village
• Ladhang Famto (Patthr Kuwa)
• Patram (Maldhan)

A summary of the survey results is as follows:

The interviewee that has confirmed their use of Diclofenac lives in Tumeria Village.  The Diclofenac was purchased from the local veterinary doctor.  This is alarming given the proximity of this village to a known vulture colony.  To address this, we will be increasing our awareness campaign in the area (see below).

Screenings of Vanishing Vultures and School Awareness

The arrival of more student volunteers (Sara Frey and Vincent Tondeur) saw the start of an awareness programme at local primary schools.  The first topic of this programme was Vulture Awareness.  Two schools were visited in July – DD Chhimwal School (19 and 31 July) and “Kim School” (23 and 29 July), both in Dhikuli.  The students at the schools were first taught about the different species of vulture, and then told about the problem of Diclofenac.  A second session was used to show “Vanishing Vultures”.

Photo 3: Students been shown the size of a Himalayan Griffon

4.      Training workshop for Field Assistants

On 31 July we held a training workshop, led by Sumantha Ghosh and Nicola Addison, for potential field assistants that may be involved in the Vulture Awareness Program. The attendees were:

• Anil Chaudhary (Corbett National Park Forest Guide)
• Prakash Dorby (Corbett National Park Forest Guide)
• Dharmpal Singh Negi (Corbett National Park Forest Guard)
• Lalit Negi (Vulture Program Field Assistant)
• Elsa Legrand (Ringora Village colony monitoring)
• Irene Glatzle (Ringora Village colony monitoring)

The workshop focused on the identification of the different vulture species, and then extensive discussion on Diclofenac, and the work that Mahseer Conservancy is doing to try and protect the vultures from this drug.  The workshop was dual purpose to 1) inform the participants about Diclofenac, and 2) to ensure that all members of the project team are aware of their roles.

5.      Overall July progress

Overall, progress through July was relatively slow due to the onset of monsoons slowing work or team members being unable to work due to illness or accident (Lalit Negi and Elsa Legrand).  We are hopeful that August will bring greater progress as we will now have more field staff working.

A summary of the action points from the June report, and the progress is as follows (progress discussed in italics):

• Continue monitoring the Ringora IWBV colony, and increase the hours of monitoring – we have two students now so can increase the amount of monitoring we can carry out. Comment: monitoring has been continued, and monitoring now occurs over a longer time period.
• Widen the area of our awareness campaign. Comment: Lalit Negi was involved in an accident early July, meaning that he was unable to progress work due to needing extensive recovery time. He did, however, make quite good progress in the short period he was working in July.
• Screenings of Vanishing Vulture: Tumeria Village

Dhela Village

Tera Village

Comment: these screenings did not happen due to monsoons and staffing pressures.  However, we are hopeful that these will happen in August.

• Identify schools which could be targeted for vulture awareness (in conjunction with Sara and Vincent’s school environmental awareness work?). Comment: Two local schools have been targeted as discussed in section 3.
• Arrange Pinjore trip for Nicola, Elsa, Sara, Lalit and Sumantha. Comment: To happen in August.
• Organise awareness meetings with the veterinary community. Comment: To happen in August.

6.      Plans for August

• Pinjore trip.
• Workshop with Forest Department staff, and other interested parties, to raise awareness on Diclofenac, and to get greater involvement from the Forest Department on the war on Diclofenac.
• Continue monitoring and awareness work.

7.      Project Vulture Core Team (July 2010)

• Sumantha Ghosh:  President of Mahseer Conservancy and local naturalist with many years experience in the Corbett area.
• Nicola Addison: Project Vulture field co-ordinator and ecologist with experience working with New Zealand birds of prey.
• Hem Bahuguna: Field Support, head of the safari team at Tiger Camp, qualified Park guide, and naturalist with many years experience in the Corbett Area.
• Lalit Negi: Field Assistant, extensive local knowledge and passion for IWBV.
• Elsa Legrand: Student at LEGTA Les Barnes (France), studying the Management and Protection of Nature.  She is monitoring the Ringora vulture colony as part of her course work.
• Irena Glatzle: Student from Germany studying ecology at university.  She is also monitoring the Ringora vulture colony as part of her course work (along with Elsa).

1 June 2010 was the official start of Mahseer Conservancy’s 2010/2011 vulture programme.  The following report is a summary of the work undertaken during the June 2010 period.  A series of monthly reports will be made throughout the year.

1.      Monitoring of vulture colonies

Ringora Village

Elsa Legrand has been monitoring the Ringora Vulture colony over the June period.  Over this time, from the 14 June 2010, it has been noticed that every evening, after the heat of the day, many of the vultures (around 40%) found in the colony are perched in trees with their heads drooped forwards and resting on their chests.  Given the length of time it has been occurring for, it’s not likely to be a result of Diclofenac poisoning (Diclofenac kills the birds within 2 or 3 days of consumption).  Experts from the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), and other vulture experts have advised that it is likely to be caused by heat stress, and dehydration.  We have been advised that eventually the birds will die from the stress this places on their bodies.

Photo 1: head drooping in the IWBV

The approach that we have adopted to address this problem is to continue monitoring as we have been doing for the past month, but also to increase our vigilance.  Morning and evening monitoring continues, and also staff are on site as time permits to monitor at other times of the day.  Some of the village students have been organised into a “Vulture Group” whereby they keep a close eye on the vultures, and immediately report any strange behaviour to members of Mahseer Conservancy, who initiate the correct procedures.

This procedure is as follows:

• Notification of all members when abnormal vulture behaviour occurs (Sumantha Ghosh, Nicola Addison, Hem Bahuguna, Lalit Negi);
• Sumantha Ghosh to notify Park Veterinary Doctor, and other park officials;
• All members to report to Ringora Village;
• “Emergency Response Kit” kept at Ringora Village – gloves, towel, water, transportation box etc.;
• Any fallen birds are to be captured if possible.  This is to be done by members who are experienced in the capture of wild birds (Hem Bahuguna)
• Any sick, captured birds to be transported to the Park’s veterinary clinic for treatment, and released when deemed to be healthy.

Photo 2: The children of Ringora Village who will be assisting us with monitoring the colony.

The following tables are a summary of Elsa’s observations at the Ringora Vulture colony for June 2010:

Table 1:Overall results for June Ringora colony monitoring

Table 2: Morning results for June Ringora colony monitoring

Table 3: Evening results for June Ringora colony monitoring

Tumeria Village

An initial visit to the vulture colony at Tumeria found 15 vultures near the village.  A subsequent visit, and advice from the local villagers, indicates that the vultures in the Tumeria Village colony are not showing signs of head drooping.  None of this (the number or the lack of head drooping) is confirmed.  This is something which we will be doing during July.

As we increase our number of field assistants, we will be looking at carrying out regular monitoring of this colony.  We will also be creating a “Vulture Group” with the local children as we have done for Ringora Village.

2.      Ban of the ‘over the counter’ sale of Diclofenac

We are currently consulting with relevant experts on how best to proceed with our drive to ban over the counter sales of Diclofenac.

3.      Diclofenac Awareness Campaign

Diclofenac presence surveys

Lalit Negi has been covering areas close to Ramnagar town, conducting Diclofenac surveys, and distributing campaign posters and leaflets. In June, he covered the following villages:

• Arjun Nala
• Tera Village
• Amdanda Khatta
• Hatidagar – Nandapur
• Berajhal

A summary of the survey results is as follows:

The interviewee that has confirmed their use of Diclofenac lives in Hatidagar – Nandapur Village.  The Diclofenac was purchased from the local veterinary doctor.  This is alarming given the proximity of this village to a known vulture feeding site.  To address this, we will be increasing our awareness campaign in the area, and will be meeting with relevant officials (park officials, veterinary community etc) to discuss the way to eradicating Diclofenac in the area.  This meeting is scheduled for 12 July 2010.

Photo 3: Lalit Negi carrying out a survey at Amdanda Khatta

Screenings of Vanishing Vultures

On 24 June 2010 we showed Vanishing Vultures in Ringora Village, followed by talks by local naturalists.  The movie was well received by the audience, which was mostly made up of village children.

We will be continuing to show Vanishing Vultures in as many villages as possible.

Map 1: Locations of awareness and monitoring work for June 2010

4.      Plans for July

• Continue monitoring the Ringora IWBV colony, and increase the hours of monitoring – we have two students now so can increase the amount of monitoring we can carry out.
• Widen the area of our awareness campaign.
• Screenings of Vanishing Vulture: Tumeria Village

Dhela Village

Tera Village

• Identify schools which could be targeted for vulture awareness (in conjunction with Sara and Vincent’s school environmental awareness work?).
• Arrange Pinjore trip for Nicola, Elsa, Sara, Lalit and Sumantha.
• Organise awareness meetings with the veterinary community.

5.      Project Vulture Core Team (June 2010)

• Sumantha Ghosh:  President of Mahseer Conservancy and local naturalist with many years experience in the Corbett area.
• Nicola Addison: Project Vulture field co-ordinator and ecologist with experience working with New Zealand birds of prey.
• Hem Bahuguna: Field Support, head of the safari team at Tiger Camp, qualified Park guide, and naturalist with many years experience in the Corbett Area.
• Lalit Negi: Field Assistant, extensive local knowledge and passion for IWBV.
• Elsa Legrand: Student at LEGTA Les Barnes (France), studying the Management and Protection of Nature.  She is monitoring the Ringora vulture colony as part of her course work.

Dr. Anil Prakash Joshi known as Mountain Men has devoted himself to resource-based rural development for the last 29 years.  As a teacher, he guided 19 Ph.D. students and motivated many more to work in the hill villages to use science and technology to solve the basic needs of the mountain community.  An Ashoka Fellow, he has authored over 80 research papers and 10 books dealing with sustainable development of the Himalayas through various means. He has also been publishing other important scientific magazines to popularize science in the villages.  The major publications are TIME (Technology Intervention for Mountain Ecosystem) and Rural Tech, which have a distribution of 5000 villages and institutes.

He quit his comfortable job as a Reader in the Government P.G. College, and plunged himself whole-heartedly into research and development work for the village people of the Himalayas.  He formed a voluntary organization entitled Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conversation Organization (HESCO), and concentrated on need-based science and technology developments, and their application for the mountain regions.  He began this work on a small scale by taking up initiatives that had immediate application possibilities in the rural areas through the support of agencies such as the Department of Science and Technology, and the Department of Bio-technology.

His total task involved in promoting local economy through local means. His strong belief is utilizing local recourses can only bring sustained economic development in rural India as former is governed by community. Thus development of local resources, upgraded wisdom, and local markets have been his focal approach.  These efforts were designed to bring about a decentralized economy, and have shown tremendous results.

  About Five lakhs villagers from ten thousand villages in the nine mountain states of the Himalayas have direct and indirect benefits from his initiative. His major contribution has been to bring back neglected watermills of 5,000 villages with new version by upgrading the traditional system. Economic and social changes of the villages after mills revival have brought revolution in many states like J&K, HP and Uttarakhand.

New applications of mill for several local resource utility have given a new ray of hope to neglected water millers. He organized millers from state to National level to gear their voice. Internationally, water millers proposed to organized to advocate decentralized power generation for local economy.

He mobilized thousands of villages to tap their local resources such as agriculture, horticulture, and medicinal and fiber plants to generate income and support a paradigm for a thriving local economy. Now most of the rural development departments of the mountain states have followed this protocol, and decentralized economies are slowly taking hold and economic independence is setting the place in rural Himalaya.

Agriculture being a major resource, Dr. Joshi also promoted the same in the mountain villages, where traditional crops have been revamped.  This approach is restoring the ecological importance of the indigenous crops, according to the Climate and Nutritional needs of the villages. His efforts to initiate value addition in local agri-produce has been fetching high return. He motivated the shrine-committees of  Badrinath, Gangotri, and Vaishno Devi Temples, as well as some Muslim Shrines, to allow offerings which are made from the local crops and resources. This was to generate local employment in these economically-deprived regions from local produce. The annual turnover of these villages involved in offering for shrines is estimated to be Rs. Ten Lakh to Forty lakhs. There is a silent movement on offering as an employment spreading in all agro-climatic zones of the country. The ministry of Science and Technology has taken up this as a major programme now.

Another program popularly knows as TIP (Technology Initiative for Peace) was instituted by Dr. Joshi which enlisted the assistance of the Indian Army and security forces. This program has been instrumental in bringing revolution in the villages of the border areas. It brought Dr. Joshi’s watermill technology and electrified many villages throughout Jammu, Kashmir, and the LOC.  In tandem with his program to maximize the use of the local resources in the regions of Kargil, Kupwara, Baramullah, Jammu, and Kashmir, Dr. Joshi introduced the brand name of “Kargil” for locally-produced products.  A similar intervention was also carried out in the northeast Arunanchal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur state, and a local-brand of their products has been established.  These efforts have braught employment in local communities, and have had the positive effect of diverting the local youth away from anti-social activities. The other forces like Border security forces, Indo Tibbetian Border Police, Social Security Board, and Central Reserve Police Force have also begun similar experiment in their respective border areas under the guidance of Dr. Joshi. This has become a popular initiative as it has brought peace in remote border areas where otherwise unrest prevails because of constant negligence of community.

Mountain men’s recent intervention in recharging mountain springs has caught enormous attention of the mountain community and policy makers in these states.  Using isotope-hydrology as a tool, with the help of Bhabha Atomic Research Center, he has successfully recharged seventeen springs which were turning dry experiment on another 120 springs of 3 states is under program.  The results of this experiment are already affecting a major thrust of many government development agencies who are addressing the scarcity of water in rural mountain areas.

     Another innovative and exciting programme introduced by Dr. Joshi involved school children and teachers from local renowned schools.  He motivated them to serve villages for development using both local resources and technology.  The basic idea behind this program was to inculcate in children an affinity towards rural villages and to create new opportunities for development for deprived villages.  The positive benefits of this project thus far have resulted “adopt a village” concept being shared with 70 additional schools across the country. 

He has also initiated WISE (Women’s Initiative for Self-Employment), a social platform for women to generate employment and marketing opportunities, as well as to address other economy-related issues.  More than five thousand women from all over the mountains are members of WISE, which has strengthened the relationship between women, their community’s resources, and technology.

Dr. Joshi has also promoted a forest-fire prevention measure in mountain villages. The removal of forest litter which exaggerates spread of wild fires was locally utilized. This litter is used for composting and other energy purposes. The villagers remove the litter before onset of peak summer for above uses. Compartmental removal present fire incidence as well as does not harm forest growth.

Another important contribution of Dr. Joshi’s includes disaster-management through providing employment relief to the victims of natural disasters. This was rendered by promoting earthquake-resistant types of housing and as well immediate employment relief based on local resources. Thousand of villagers were benefited with it at the time of 1992 and 1999 Himalayan earthquake. 

In 1979, Dr. Joshi addressed the menacing problem of soil erosion and landslides in the Himalayan Mountains with Biological methods. The simple botanical cum mechanical method has been applied to stabilize the slopes. More than hundred slides along the major hill roads were controlled by his initiative. These experiments became so successful that the Border Roads organization subsequently adopted the technology throughout the mountain region. 

Dr. Joshi also promoted to schedule caste community. During their visit in Himalayas, an idea came up in his mind to develop a model village for schedule caste community through their local resources in three states Uttarakhand, Himanchal and J&K. About 10 numbers of villages all across Jammu Kashmir, Himanchal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand are involved in the task.

Primary philosophy underlying Dr. Joshi’s approach to rural village development is the concept of a community-to-community knowledge transfer.  He is committed to inspire a continuing “development chain” in which a village receiving the benefits of development will in turn pass on that knowledge to another village in need of assistance. This mode of technology-transfers is popular by name Shridan (community initiative to community) practice. It has popular acceptance in Indian mountain villages. This has recently been adopted internationally too. The Swiss community has initiated a programme called CIC (community initiative to community) from Alpine to Himalaya. The community of Engadin valley organized support for technology transfer to Swiss alpine to himalaya. Rural women from Indian mountain were trained by Swiss community on Bakery, Cheese, and Bee Keeping etc. Similar initiative is brewing in New Zealand where south alpine community is organizing training for Himalayan farmers on agriculture issues. The whole technology transfer program is organized, sponsored and imparted by communities. The trained community further share it with others.      

He has undertaken Padyatra to raise the issues on community right and empowerment.  Padyatras from Gangotri to Delhi, Uttarakhand to Himachal Pradesh and Manari to Maletha were conducted to raise water issues under Water Movement. Considering the agriculture as a mainstay and farmer most important individual of the nation, he recently organized cycle yatra from J&K to Uttarakhand and from Kanyakumari to Uttarakhand (5000 Km).  His latest endeavor has been to demand a fix percentage of land under agriculture to ensure the food security. He has been working on one window service to the marginal farmers. This would include loan, seeds, plant protection services and market outlet. This has been established in Uttarakhand as a ‘KISAN BANK’ a paradigm for others to follow.  This has largely reduced farm inputs and as well a dignity of farmers is secured, which latter feel is threatened.

Dr. Joshi has also published a children’s newspaper entitled “Bachcho Ka Akhbar” to bring awareness to village-children about science and their local natural resources.  This paper is distributed in 1500 villages of the mountain areas.

Positions

1.  Member in Indian Council for Forestry Research and Education, Society.
2. Center Soil and Water Training Research Institute,  member.
3. Expert member:- Indo Swiss Collaboration in Biotechnology .
4. Expert member : Biotechnology Promotion Committee Programme.
5. Expert in Department of Science and Technology.
6. Fellow National Academy of Science.
7. Member of Indian Society for Forester.
8. Fellow of Indian Botanical Society.

AWARDS:

 I.Jawahar Lal Nehru Award by the Indian Science Congress in 1999.

II.Social Science Award for 2001 from Shri Ram Washshran Devi Bhatia Memorial Charitable Trust.

III.Declared Man of the Year 2002 by the popular magazine “The Week”.

IV. Awarded the Sat Paul Mittal Award for 2004.

V.Dr. T.N. Khoshoo Memorial Award in Conservation for 2005 for his contribution to social upliftment.

VI.Padma Shree Award in 2006

VII. Jamnalal Bajaj Award in 2006.

VIII.Honored as one of the Silvers of the Year 2007 achievers named By Harmony Magazine.

IX.Real Heroes Award, CNN IBN and Reliance

X.National Award for women’s development through application of   science and technology

dranilpjoshi@gmail.com

dranilpjoshi@yahoo.com

website: www.hesco.in

Prerna Singh Bindra

Prerna Singh Bindra is an economics graduate, and has a degree in Personnel Management and Labour Welfare. She started her career with Indian Institute of Management (Ahmedabad), as a Research Associate. She has also consulted with NGOs i.e the Friends of Women’s World Banking, where she assessed needs for micro financing for rural women, and helped streamline systems to make microfinance accessible.

Career

She began her career in journalism, born out of a passion for the wilds, with Sanctuary Asia. Later, she moved on to mainstream media, as she believed that the message needed to percolate to the common man, and to reach a larger audience. In a career spanning over a decade, she has worked with various publications including India Today, The Asian Age, The Pioneer, Tehelka and The Indian Express— penning well over a thousand articles on nature and wildlife. She has also written nature articles for children.  Prerna has done many investigative, undercover stories at times at considerable risk to life ie. exposed the illegal trade in shahtoosh in Jammu & Kashmir, the ivory trade in Gujarat and the elephant massacre in Satkosia in Orissa. She has travelled across forests in naxal control like Palamau and Saranda in Jharkhand, and Simlipal in Orissa, and remote forests such as Valmiki in Bihar.    She has written extensively on the  Terai, traversing through Uttarakhand-Uttar Pradesh-Bihar to understand and highlight man-animal conflict, poaching concerns, rehabilitation of villages from critical tiger habitats and other issues in protected areas in the Terai. She has also focussed on lesser known endangered species. Her canvas also includes writing on deforestation, impact of power plants, mines and other mega-projects on ecology and livelihood. Her writing has also effected policy change.  

She currently is a freelance journalist, and is the Editor of Tigerlink, a journal which collates and analyses information on the tiger from across its range countries. She also occasionally volunteers for NGOs, essentially pitching in campaigns or driving media attention to focus on critical conservation issues. She is also currently working with the Ministry of Tourism to help work out strategies to help alleviate the negative impacts of tourism on wildlife. She is currently also involved with the NDTV Save the Tiger campaign as representing Sanctuary Asia who are the knowledge partners. 

She is committed to raise the bar for environment journalists, and has helped organise media workshops. She has spoken at various seminars, conferences, colleges and schools.  She is guest faculty at an International Course on Awareness as a tool for Conservation organised by Satpuda Foundation in collaboration with Environment Education and Conservation Global. And also for the journalism school of Centre for Media Studies. 

Awards

She has won the Carl Zeiss Award for excellence in networking and engaging the public at large for the cause of wildlife conservation, as well as the Sanctuary Asia Wildlife Service award for in-depth and consistent coverage of conservation issues.

 Book

She has authored a well-received book, a conservation-based travelogue The King and I:Travels in Tigerland, published by Rupa in 2006.

The following is a report on the findings of a study conducted by Mahseer Conservancy in collaboration with the Wildlife Institute of India on the status of Golden Mahseer populations in the Ramganga River and investigations into possible reasons for their apparent decline. The research was conducted during a 6 week period in March and April 2010.

The golden mahseer occurs across the Himalayas and inhabits the streams and rivers that drain the lower Himalayan terrain. The large surface area of its fins, cylindrical body and muscular tail are adapted to suit the montane water environments in which it lives. These are characterised by steep gradients, a high rate of flow, high oxygen content and cold, clear waters. The golden mahseer is a migratory fish that moves upstream into smaller tributaries and feeder streams in the monsoon for spawning. These streams serve as fresh feeding grounds and appropriate sites for depositing their spawn. The mature adults descend back down to the larger rivers after the rains leaving the fry and juveniles in the more suitable, shallower waters that have a lower flow rate.

It has been widely documented that golden mahseer populations are declining across India but comprehensive studies with data to confirm these trends are largely lacking. The species was categorised as endangered by the National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources in 1992 but a combination of human impacts are contributing to their continued demise. These include:

1. Altering of habitat and impediment of migration through the construction of dams.
2. Killing of fry, fingerlings and brood fish through the use of indiscriminate fishing methods such as dynamiting, electrocution and poisoning.
3. Destruction of habitat and seasonal spawning grounds caused by siltation resulting from mining, pollution and water extraction.
4. Reduction of habitat caused by water extraction and global warming.

The Golden Mahseer is particularly vulnerable due to the specific environmental conditions needed to feed and spawn successfully and its relatively low fecundity rate. The declining trend in their numbers is therefore cause for great alarm and widespread conservation initiatives are needed immediately to safeguard the future of the species.

Study Area

The study area is a 15km stretch of the Ramganga River up and downstream of Bhikyasain, Almora district, between the points +29° 40′ 9.96″N +79° 13′ 58.62″E and +29° 47′ 6.36″N +79° 14′ 50.10″E. 

Satellite map of study area 

The Ramganga originates from the high altitude zone of the Doodhatoli ranges in the district of Pauri Garhwal, Uttarakand. The river then runs south west through scattered villages and agricultural land for 140km before entering the Corbett National Park. Downstream of the protected area the river meanders another 300km before draining into the Ganges near Farrukhabad, Utter Pradesh.

The Ramganga is the lifeblood of the Corbett National Park and is largest of the precious few perennial sources of water in the protected area. The park was established in 1936 and protects an immense diversity of flora and fauna including, of course, the critically endangered Bengal Tiger. In 1974 the park was chosen as the location to launch Project Tiger and now, due to the thick jungle forest and rich diversity of species supported by the Ramganga, hosts one of the highest Tiger densities in the world.  The river also provides crucial habitat other important and threatened species such as the endangered gharial, mugger crocodiles, otters, turtles, a multitude of bird species as well as the fast declining golden mahseer.

The study area is located approximately 20km north of Corbett National Park but despite the short distance it is in stark contrast to the pristine ecosystem of the protected area.  Destructive human activities such as sand mining, over extraction of water and indiscriminate fishing using dynamite, electrocution and bleaching are degrading the river ecosystem and decimating fish species such as the golden mahseer. The river resources of the area are controlled by the Forest Department but currently no patrols are being carried out to monitor the river and nothing is in place to stop the damage being done.

Furthermore, the golden mahseer is a migratory fish that travels great distances upstream to spawn in smaller streams and tributaries during the monsoon rains. This means that although healthy populations of the species are protected in the Jim Corbett National Park these fish still have to run the gauntlet of traveling through the heavily degraded, highly populated section of river in order to get to and from their seasonal spawning grounds. Therefore, the success of the sanctuaries downstream will be undone unless the intense fishing pressure upstream is successfully managed, especially during the migration periods.

There are a few isolated sanctuaries along this stretch of river alongside temples where fish are protected from all fishing methods. The absolute respect of these areas by the locals means that patrols are not needed and fish populations thrive. These populations attract angling tourism to the area, providing lucrative revenue for the temples. 

Project Aim

‘To assess the threat of damaging human activities to the status of Golden Mahseer populations in the 15km study stretch of Ramganga River, Almora district.’

The aim of the report is to assess the abundance and distribution of golden mahseer populations in the river and identify threats to these populations in order to make informed decisions on how best to protect the species and methods for effective conservation. It is hoped that conservation initiatives started in this area can be used as an example and replicated throughout the subcontinent.

OBJECTIVE 1: Assess the status of Golden Mahseer populations in the study area.

Fish were sampled during a 6 week period in March and April 2010. Sampling was carried out using a traditional cast net with a mesh size of 2cmx2cm. The 15km study area was split into 500m segments, in each segment 2 hours were allotted to make 100 casts.

Fish caught were identified, measured, weighed and photographed before being returned to the water. Morphometric characteristics such as total length, head length, body depth, weight and number of scales along the lateral line were recorded for size class determination and identification confirmation.

Environmental characteristics were also recorded at 100m intervals. When correlated with the fish sampling data this would show which conditions mahseer populations were favouring in the river. The main habitat parameters measured were water speed (fast, medium, slow), water depth (cm), turbidity (high, medium, low), vegetation (yes, no), and substratum (bedrock (> 50 cm), boulders (25-50 cm), pebbles (6-25 cm), coarse and fine gravels (0.2 to 6 cm), and sand/silt (< 0.2)).

The river mainly oscillated between fast flowing, shallow rapids and deep, slow flowing pools. Turbidity of the water was recorded to be clear in every location and vegetation was present in the majority of locations. The substratum of the river bed varied along the river with larger rocks and boulders more common in fast flowing sections and gravel, sand and silt more common in the slow-flowing pools.

5 species of fish were recorded during the sampling period. The percentage of the species of fish sampled was: Golden Mahseer (Tor putitora) – 14%, Rohu (Labeo dero) – 74%, Gotyla (Garra gotyla) – 5%, Barred Baril (barilius barila) – 5%.

                            Chart showing the percentages of species sampled

The results show that rohu greatly outnumbered golden mahseer. Rohu favoured shallow, fast-flowing rapids whereas the golden mahseer were exclusively caught in the deeper pools that were under the protection of temples. The lack of golden mahseer caught suggests that their populations are threatened, however, it could be due to the limitations of the sampling method. The mesh size on the cast net was too large to catch smaller sized fish and where the depth of water was greater than 1m the cast net became ineffective. This meant that shallow rapids were the areas where the cast net was most effective, conditions favoured by the rohu.

In order to overcome these problems an observational approach was also adopted which was possible due to the clarity of the water. Observations were made for 30 minutes at 100m intervals along the study area. We noted that golden mahseer were absent for large stretches of the river. Fish of more than 2kg were exclusively found in the protected areas alongside temples where dynamite is prohibited.  High densities of golden mahseer were seen in these sanctuaries, notably at Senala Temple and Kadar Bridge.

The failure to catch any mahseer outside the protected areas, backed up by observational studies, suggests that fishing pressure is having a huge impact on mahseer populations forcing them to find sanctuary in isolated pools next to temples.

OBJECTIVE 2: Investigate damaging human activities in the study area and their possible impact on Golden Mahseer populations.  

Investigations were carried out by making observations along the river and recording any human disturbance that was occurring. This was backed up by extensive interviews with local people, photographs and video recordings.

Mahseer is a highly valued food fish in this locality and the fishing pressure was found to be acute in order to meet the demand. The main method of catching fish is the use of explosives such as dynamite. More traditional fishing methods such as cast nets, snares and catching fish with hands are also widely used. Electrocution from high powered, overhead cables were mentioned to be used in interviews but this method was not witnessed during the study period.

                      Boys with 7 Rohu and 1 Golden Mahseer caught using dynamite near Bhikyasain

Dynamite is a common and hugely destructive method of fishing used on the river. Explosions were heard 14 times during the study period and witnessed 6 times. During interviews many people said dynamite was being used every day all along the river. The fishing method is not selective; it kills everything within the vicinity of the blast. Fry, fingerlings and other aquatic species are often part of the discarded by-catch. On the 8^th of March a boy fishing downstream of Bhikasain said that a turtle was killed earlier that morning by mistake when a group was fishing using the explosive.  When surveying a deep pool below the village of Naula a woman commented that our efforts were pointless as dynamite was used in the pool every day and there were no longer any fish left.

During the monsoon the larger mature adult mahseer migrate upstream to spawn. These fish are targeted using dynamite, electrocution and nets. When interviewed Birendra Rawat from Bhikiasain claimed that during the monsoon he eats mahseer for lunch and dinner every day. This demonstrates that the success of the sanctuaries downstream will be undone unless the intense fishing pressure upstream is successfully managed, especially during the migration periods. This view was shared by Misty Dhillon, owner of Himalayan Outback near Marchula ‘The protected areas will not be effective unless something is done about the slaughtering of mahseer when they migrate to breed’  

The extraction of sand, gravel and rocks used for building materials is occurring intensively along this stretch of river. Not only is this scarring the river landscape, it also disrupts the natural river ecosystem and will potentially contaminate the local water supply. Clear, fast-flowing and rocky waters are essential for the mahseer to thrive and any changes to these conditions disrupt the fish’s ability to feed and breed successfully. Therefore, siltation of the river caused by mining could potentially have disastrous consequences for the survival of the mahseer. Furthermore, widespread reduction of river levels in the area caused by global warming and over extraction of water exasperates siltation, the effects of which are already being noticed. Chris Summers, an angling guide in the area commented that ‘the water is definitely murkier. In past years it was crystal clear, you could count the pebbles in 6ft of water, now you can’t’.  

15% of the locations observed in the study had some sort of mining activity taking place. In several locations sand was being extracted on a large scale to be sold commercially in the market. Mining was particularly intensive on the Gagas River, a tributary of the Ramganga that runs through Bhikasain. Here, families were mining sand from the river bed every day for jeeps and lorries to collect and transport to the market. This was dramatically altering the natural flow of the river and caused a crater effect with banks of discarded gravel and pools of stagnant water. 40kg of sand was being sold for 20 rupees.  

MAJOR FINDINGS OF OBJECIVES 1 & 2

1. Fishing pressure on the study area is intense.
2. Dynamite is being used extensively on the river, decimating golden mahseer populations.
3. Dynamite produces a large unwanted by-catch including fry, fingerlings and other aquatic wildlife such as turtles.
4. Remaining fish populations are found in small, isolated sections that are protected by temples.
5. The river is not being patrolled to monitor illegal fishing methods.
6. Sand, gravel and rock extraction is occurring intensively along the river to be sold commercially or used personally for construction and repairs.
7. The Gagas River in Bhikyasain is being severely degraded due to sand mining. 40kg bags of sand are being sold commercially for 20 rupees.

PROPOSED ACTION PLAN

• Discuss major findings and issues with village heads and concerned parties.
• Highlight areas suitable for the creation of sanctuaries.
• Hand over beats to villages headed and represented by Van-Panchayats.
• Enforce the ban on dynamite with patrolling guards.
• Start angling-based eco-tourism where licenses are issued by respective villages and guests hosted in family houses

Angling tourism has been successfully implemented as a conservation tool downstream of the study area and it is hoped that this model can be replicated. If the money generated by tourism reaches the local population it provides a clear financial incentive to conserve the fish. It is hoped that by focusing on the golden mahseer as a key species implementing measures to protect and restore its habitat, it will have a positive knock-on effect for the rest of the threatened local wildlife.

The Ramganga River that runs alongside the Jim Corbett National Park is pristine. Casually peering into the river you will inevitably see swarms of golden mahseer darting around in the clear water hunting for small Chilwa. Look along the bank and you may see an Otter swimming in the shallows or a Gharial basking in the sun, point your head skywards and you’ll likely see a flock of Cormorants and perhaps a fish eagle soaring overhead. It is a complete river ecosystem. However, this reality is in stark contrast to the same river just 20km upstream where damaging human activities are severely altering the river landscape and putting a huge strain on the local wildlife.  

During a month period in March 2010, with the support of Sumantha Ghosh founder and president of Mahseer Conservancy and guidance from Dr.Shiv Kumar of The Wildlife Institute of India, I conducted an investigation into the effect human activities were having on the populations of golden mahseer on a 15km section of the Ramganga River up and downstream of Bhikiasain,

Almora.  

We found that there are two major threats to the already dwindling golden mahseer populations. The first is the destruction of habitat and seasonal spawning grounds caused by mining, water extraction and pollution. The second, more direct threat is the killing of fry, fingerling and adult mahseer through the use of indiscriminate fishing methods such as dynamiting, electrocution, netting and snares all of which were found to be widespread. 

The extraction of sand, gravel and rocks used for building materials is occurring intensively along this stretch of river. Not only is this scarring the river landscape, it also disrupts the natural river ecosystem and will potentially contaminate the local water supply. Clear, fast-flowing and rocky waters are essential for the mahseer to thrive and any changes to these conditions disrupt the fish’s ability to feed and breed successfully. Therefore, siltation of the river caused by mining could potentially have disastrous consequences for the survival of the mahseer. Furthermore, widespread reduction of river levels in the area caused by global warming and over extraction of water exasperates siltation, the effects of which are already being noticed. Chris Summers, an angling guide in the area commented that ‘the water is definitely murkier. In past years it was crystal clear, you could count the pebbles in 6ft of water, now you can’t’.  

15% of the locations observed in the study had some sort of mining activity taking place. In several locations sand was being extracted on a large scale to be sold commercially in the market. Mining was particularly intensive on the Gages River, a tributary of the Ramganga that runs through Bhikyasain. Here, families were mining sand from the river bed every day for jeeps and lorries to collect and transport to the market. This was dramatically altering the natural flow of the river and caused a crater effect with banks of discarded gravel and pools of stagnant water.  

Not only will the mahseer be affected by the reduced clarity levels, the river water on which so many people depend will be of lower quality and may become undrinkable. Water shortages are already prevalent and this will only add to the vulnerability of the area. 

Mahseer is a highly valued food fish in this locality and the fishing pressure is acute in order to meet the demand. Dynamite is a common and hugely destructive method of fishing used on the river. The fishing method is not selective; it kills everything within the vicinity of the blast. On the 8^th of March a boy fishing downstream of Bhikyasain said that a turtle was killed earlier that morning by mistake when a group was fishing using the explosive. When surveying a deep pool in below the village of Naula a woman commented that our efforts were pointless as dynamite was used in the pool every day and there were no longer any fish left. The survey found that the densities of golden mahseer were very low along the 15km of Ramganga with the exception of a few small sanctuaries next to temples. In these isolated areas where the killing of fish is prohibited fish of all species find refuge and are found in large numbers. These protected pools at Senala Temple and Kadar Bridge attract angling tourism which practices catch-and-release, providing a lucrative income for the temples. Chris Summers commented that this had been his most successful year to date catching mahseer at Senela Temple but was hesitant to attribute this to an increase in population suggesting it was most likely a case of improved baits, tackle and methods used.  

The golden mahseer is a migratory fish that travels great distances upstream to spawn in smaller streams and tributaries during the monsoon rains. This means that although healthy populations of the species are protected in the Jim Corbett National Park these fish still have to run the gauntlet of travelling through the heavily degraded, highly populated section of river in order to get to and from their seasonal spawning grounds. Many of these fish don’t make it, when interviewed Birendra Rawat from Bhikiasain claimed that during the monsoon he eats mahseer for lunch and dinner every day. This demonstrates that the success of the sanctuaries downstream will be undone unless the intense fishing pressure upstream is successfully managed, especially during the migration periods. This view was shared by Misty Dhillon, owner of Himalayan Outback near Marchula ‘The protected areas will not be effective unless something is done about the slaughtering of mahseer when they migrate to breed’  

It cannot be denied that the golden mahseer is one of the most magnificent fish that inhabit the fresh waters of India. It is the official fish of Uttarakhand and anglers from across the globe travel to the state in the hope of catching ‘the hardest fighting of fresh water species’. The fish can grow to 6 feet in length, in excess of 50kg and while the distinctive golden colours and elegantly streamlined body account for its beauty, the clear, fast flowing waters in which it lives can be reason for its brute power. Indeed, Jim Corbett was passionate about the species and wrote that fishing for the golden mahseer is ‘the most fascinating of all field sports’. Angling tourism has been successfully implemented as a conservation tool downstream of the study area and it is hoped that this model can be replicated. If the money generated by tourism reaches the local population it provides a clear financial incentive to conserve the fish.  It is hoped that by focusing on the golden mahseer as a key species implementing measures to protect and restore its habitat will have a positive knock-on effect for the rest of the threatened local wildlife.

To this end, SAHAR invited representatives of government mini stries and institutions working in the environmental and natural resources sectors, international and national non-governmental organisations, academia, and members of the press.

Arun Rana, SAHAR secretary, opened the seminar with a brief round up of SAHAR’s mission and the threats to fish species in Nepal, including the irrational methods of fishing employed in Nepal today and the impact of sand and gravel excavation. His presentation focused particularly on the neglect of aquatic conservation in Nepal, and constituted a call to arms to all those who care for our natural heritage.

A selection of speakers then presented their findings on various aspects of aquatic conservation relevant to Nepal. Dr Tek Bahadur Gurung, with the Livestock and Fisheries Research Directorate at the Nepal Agricultural Research Council, spoke about Nepal’s experience of using native fish hatcheries to stock rivers. The incredible success of the Kali Gandaki Hatchery, which has released over 4 million fish fingerlings into the wild, is a rare success story that SAHAR hopes to replicate on different scales in the rivers and lakes of Nepal. Dr Gurung’s presentation sparked a lively debate on the appropriateness of fish ladders or hatcheries to mitigate the impacts of hydraulic engineering works on local fish diversity and movement.

Prof Dr Jiwan Shrestha of NAST outlined the considerable aquatic biodiversity of Nepal, where an estimated 205 species of fish have been identified. Dr Shrestha not only drew attention to the sheer diversity of fish in Nepal’s water bodies, but also noted their economic importance – including the value of specific species for the table, and for ornamental, recreational, larvicidal and medicinal purposes. She also explained the threats to this diversity, citing the example of the  Kathmandu Valley, where fish species in the Bagmati have dwindled from 35 two decades ago to just 2 in recent times. She concluded by outlining conservation strategies.

Prof Dr Tej Kumar Shrestha of Tribhuvan University focused on the habitats and ecology of the migratory species of the Himalayan rivers. In particular, he dwelt on the several species of mahseer, a highly prized and increasingly rare gamefish. Mahseer is known as Sahar in Nepal, and in fact SAHAR is named after this renowned fish. In the course of Dr Shrestha’s presentation, it became clear that the loss of this magnificent species would not only dent the viability of our riverine ecosystems, but also deprive future generations of the opportunity to witness, as hunter-conservation Jim Corbett put it, the ‘tiger of the water’.

SN Ogale, a former consultant to Tata Power Company and World Bank, then highlighted the success of conserving mahseer at Lonavla Lakes, India. In an absorbing presentation, Mr Ogale detailed the decades-long endeavor to raise mahseer fingerlings to maturity in small ponds using improved methods of aquaculture at the mahseer farm operated by Tata Power. The success of the project has led to the revival of mahseer fisheries in India (including through direct supply of mahseer eggs from Lonavla), and also proves that large corporations can contribute directly to the public good in sectors outside of their commercial mandate.

Mahseer Conservancy’s Nicola Addison and Sumantah Ghosh followed with a presentation on successful wildlife tourism as practiced in the Western Ramganga River in Uttarakhand, India, where similar problems of overfishing were overcome through a tripartite agreement in 2005 between the host community, government, and private entrepreneurs. With extensive involvement of locals – who were trained and employed as guides by Mahseer Conservancy – a catch and release policy was instituted that has attracted anglers to a low-impact lodge on the Ramganga, Riverine Woods, and others. This model, which could be replicated in Nepal, benefits not just the mahseer and other fish species, but also the local community.

SAHAR’s efforts will only take root if it receives the support of those working in the field of aquatic conservation. Key partners are the traditional fishing communities of Nepal. Dhan Bahadur Majhi, Chairperson of the Central Committee of the Nepal Majhi Upliftment Society, highlighted the problems faced by his impoverished community. In a heartfelt presentation, Mr Majhi lamented the loss of culture that has accompanied the devastation wrought upon Nepal’s rivers and lakes by over harvesting, unsustainable modes of fishing, and habitat loss. While the Majhi community is not in any way opposed to development, this presentation made it clear they are rooted in the natural heritage we all claim as ours. Any measures to protect this heritage, therefore, should draw upon the traditional knowledge and expertise of the fishing communities of  Nepal.

Ravi Man Singh, President of SAHAR, concluded the seminar with a round-up of the issues raised by the seminar participants. He reiterated the immense importance of Nepal’s aquatic biodiversity, the threats it currently faces, and the need to raise a critical mass of awareness to forge partnerships and involve the marginalized fishing communities of Nepal to conserve the fish of Nepal. Citing the commendable work of Tata Power Company in Lonavla, he opined that commercial hydropower developers can and should play a positive role in conservation efforts. Lastly, he pointed out that the technology for artificial captive breeding of many of Nepal’s fish species has already been successfully demonstrated by the Fisheries Department in Nepal. This offers the opportunity to revive fish stocks in Nepal’s rivers through restocking efforts, and creates opportunities for promoting sustainable angling tourism that could make a significant contribution to alleviating poverty in Nepal.

Researchers of Corbett-based Mahseer Conservancy, who have been undertaking the annual vulture monitoring exercise in the region, report that every evening, after the heat of the day, as many as 90 per cent of the vultures in the colony can be found perched on trees with their heads drooped forward and resting on their chests.

“This worrying behaviour has been noticed over the past two weeks. Given the length of time it has been occurring for, it is unlikely to be a result of diclofenac poisoning, as diclofenac kills the birds within two or three days of consumption. Experts from the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), the England-based Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), and other vulture experts have indicated that the abnormal behaviour is being caused by heat stress and dehydration. Eventually, the already rare birds will die from this stress on their bodies,” cautioned Sumantha Ghosh, founder of Mahseer Conservancy in an exclusive conversation with The Pioneer.

Given that there are only around ten birds left in the region, naturalists are trying hard to capture these birds when they fall on the ground so that they may be treated and saved.

Ghosh said, “As in humans, the sick vultures can be given rehydrating drips and kept in a controlled environment. Veterinarian Dr S Bhalla of Corbett Tiger Reserve has been helpful and has agreed to treat the birds in his safe hands. The only way to save vultures that have heat stress is to wait until they fall from the trees, capture them and quarantine them, with plenty of food and water easily accessible to them.”

According to Dr Vibhu Prakash, director of Pinjore-based Vulture Breeding Centre of BNHS, the birds will fall (from their perches) within a month and require entrapment for anti-stress treatment.

The Indian White-backed Vulture is an endangered species that has witnessed a 99 per cent decline in its population in the last decade.

Children of Ringora village helping for the conservation of vultures

Among their rare colonies is Ringora, an “encroached” village with around 25 families on either side of NH-121, about three km north of Ramnagar in Nainital district.
With the help of local village children, volunteers of the NGO have been trying to capture these birds. However, it is only a short span of about 5 minutes for which a vulture is on the ground before it hides away, and often it is too late by the time the volunteers reach the spot. Cognizant of the urgency to address the issue, Ghosh appealed through The Pioneer, “I request the State forest department and concerned citizens to help with providing bird trappers who can stay in the vicinity for immediate action. Otherwise, it will not be long before we lose the few endangered species that we have left in the State.”