UKWS & Wildlife Samrudhhi Mahamarg!

 

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“What is a fish without a river? What is a bird without a tree to nest in? What is an Endangered Species Act without any enforcement mechanism to ensure their habitat is protected? It is nothing!” ... - Jay Inslee

Jay Robert Inslee is an American politician, lawyer, and economist who has served as the 23rd governor of Washington since 2013 & what he said about habitat in such few words (with analogy) is what made me use them & not just because he was Guv of some State of USA. Rather I always wonder with such vision & clarity of political minds yet why USA itself is major destructor of nature (wildlife) & why the country doesn’t help (financially as well by providing infra) to other countries such as India for our wildlife conservation instead helps other countries (do I need to mention names) only weapons!! Anyways, that's a different aspect of sharing but for this one which is about one of the most unique locations for wildlife (tigers mainly) of not just our State but for entire central Indian forests, I felt the quote most apt! For those who might not have guessed (not many for sure), it’s about Umred named town, which is mainly known for UKWS i.e., umred karhandala wildlife sanctuary & not just its different habitat but for very strategic (rather unique) location. By now many wildlifers know the term “Corridor” which is used for the patch of lands which connects actual forests & through which wild animals migrate from one place to another. Now, those who don't know much about wild life (read as doesn’t care), they will ask, why the wild animals migrate in the first place? Well, the answer is, the same reason for which we humans migrate from one place to another i.e., better living! Only difference is, unlike we the humans, the wild animals does not have privilege to choose the option of travelling like air travel, car or railway & they don’t have airports, railway tracks & definitely not Samruddhi Mahamarg which can fast & safely take them to their new home or destination, so they have to use their feet & cover the distance! This is not an easy task as, no longer their path of foot travel is just forest where they can travel without disturbing humans (read as without themselves getting disturbed) as imagine a tiger walking towards some forest on a town’s road or from the backyard of your home, what will be your reaction! So, these animals must choose a path where they can get privacy as well as food & water on the way & this is where Umred’s strategic location comes in the picture on wildlife map!

Surrounded by all the major forests in Central India, such as tadoba, pench, melghat, nagzira, bor & many unprotected forests, UKWS is hub for wild animals traveling within these forests for the better living. It is very much centrally located, has ample water in the form of many lakes which are perennial & is surrounded by forest cover on most of its surrounding which is essential for wild animals for maintaining their privacy! No wonder tigers from many forests & sanctuaries have visited UKWS frequently, mainly from Tadoba which is like breeding centre of the yellow black stripes & when one of the tigers gets driven away in the territory fight, UKWS surroundings is the safest gateway for such out-casted tigers for a while & even for permanent purpose also *; here, * star is for terms & conditions applicable the way it is for H1B is required for residence in USA! If you are confused, or thinking it is a prank then it’s not, what terms & conditions means is, the existing wildlife (read as tigers) in UKWS, if they allow the new tigers to settle then only its possible or else the new traveling tiger can start its journey ahead to any of neighbouring forests for permanent residence! Though the location was unique & wild animals knew it since long yet to make humans know (read as admire) UKWS’s importance it took the magic of Fairy which bought UKWS on wildlife map with bang, some three years back. Fairy is the name of a tigress which gave birth to five cubs & raised them & the male tiger also supported & this became a delight of every wildlife photographer as the family of seven tigers used to pose for the camera together, something which doesn’t happen in the wilderness often! This is how UKWS started getting attention & tourists too at its forest but what it needs is much more than just tourists & attention, is my subject of sharing!

Because today it’s just a Sanctuary, making funding always a problem for providing infrastructure which includes increasing numbers of forest guards to making good roads inside parks as well proper support to forest staff for commodities such as shoes to clothing & rest also! At the same time the lands around UKWS are rich with minerals & mining is main industry here making Umred a very fast-growing town in Nagpur region which means interruption in the corridors of wild animals by developments such as plotting, highways, digging for mines & many such, this needs to be controlled (I have used the term stopped)! As people here need jobs & these minerals can make many human lives comfortable but not at the cost of wildlife, this is what I wanted to share! Right now, things can be balanced but not for long time before it’s too late, the way we have planned & built Samruddhi Highway for safe & fast travels, high time Mr Nitin Bhau Gadkari (who is from Nagpur only) to build many such Wildlife Samruddhi Highways connecting places like UKWS to all the neighbouring forests! Please think over the idea & you can definitely do it (read as you must) as forest dept neither has funds nor have power to do anything for the wildlife, outside of their sanctuaries or parks & no other political leaders feel the need for such a cause!

The major threat to UKWS wildlife’s balance is, one the protected forest area is small & second, geographical constraints on expansion as this forest doesn’t have buffer, there are urban settlements or dam water bodies on all the sides except some patches of forests which are the corridors & the migrating male tigers are causing disturbance to exiting tigers here. The present cubs which are born from Surya, dominant male is under threat from the male tigers coming from different forests, thus the female tigers are also disturbed. This has happened in tadoba also toppling the life cycle of newborn tigers & which is bad for the future of wildlife in any forest. Unless we take fast actions & make space as well corridors for the tigers in transit UKWS wildlife may possess great threat. And mostly in such cases the tigresses with little cubs move away the cubs in other areas away from male tigers causing man-animal conflict or the cubs getting exposed from human threats such as electric fencing or falling in some open well, the end-result is, loss of a tiger life! And all these things forest dept alone can't do on its own, a strong support from powerful political leaders will definitely help the cause!

Barring such a thing UKWS is a bliss to be in, though the guides needed to be better trained & more roads must be opened so as sighting of wildlife can be better. I wonder what's the forest dept’s problem with not opening or making new routes as well poor maintenance of forest roads, as these will make more forest under vigilance of tourists well for forest staff too! As most of the forest dept’s senior staff if on one side accept the importance of wildlife tourism in wildlife conservation then on the other side it hardy does in positive action on the field, which includes things such as opening more roads, rest rooms at all the forest chowkis for tourists, training of guides as well guards, making them know other forests of the State & of the country & the list is on! Dear Nitin Gadkari Sir & forest dept, we are blessed with such a wonderful treasure like UKWs, weather to make addition in it for our next generations or to waste it, choice is solely ours & time is very less, adios with this note (you may read it as threat)!

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Sanjay Deshpande 

Sanjeevani Dev.

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