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“Forest is not something which you will understand by sitting in the close classrooms & opening your laptops, it’s a school which teaches via your mere presence in that school” … Me.
Umred Karhandala; Hon High Court Justice sir, please understand wildlife tourism & then judge it...
three days back a video clip came on my cell phone on some group saying a rare sighting of a Tiger with five cubs in Tadoba Forest!! I immediately replied looking at the forest & having a little bit of an update on tadoba that it's not tadoba may be tipeshwar or umred karandhla!! And then that clip kept coming to me from many people as well as groups with different tags and made lots of viewership on social media!! As usual chaos followed resulting in action on guides, drivers even on tourists & as apex point today, I read a news saying Hon High Court took cognizance on its own and asked the State Forest Head to look into it & give a report!!
Hon Justice sir, with due respect I am not supporting wrong wildlife tourism but please don't draw conclusions about blocking the road of a tiger or tag entire wildlife tourism from one clip is what I will request!! As wildlife tourism can't be judged from some reports or photos or clips on social media but you need to travel extensively in the various forests, understanding of facts & difficulties, people, animals, forests & then draw your judgement, is also I will request!!
Fact is this all started due to wrong (with due respect to court) judgement of Hon Supreme Court itself which reduced wildlife tourism area by 80% making only 20% areas of sanctuary’s' & project tiger open for tourism, add in it, tiger-centric tourism marketing of our own Govts tourism dept (check MTDC advertise about tadoba)!! Outcome is, every person visiting forests wants to see a tiger & your own decision has concentrated all tourists in a limited part of the forests, so think on that!! This doesn't mean all is right & perfect as we can improve on many fronts in wildlife tourism, giving proper infrastructure to Forest dept to proper training & a lot! Will write my detailed view on this but visit forests as a common tourist & not as a VIP & understand wildlife tourism if you have got real concerns for wildlife & then decide as its fate is in your hands only now, (more to come) ...!! धन्यवाघ !!
Above message I posted on some whatsapp groups, which was my immediate reaction (read as frustration) when I opened newspaper today (7 1 25) & read the news about above incidence! Those who are lucky to afford to remain ignorant about such things for them, in a wildlife sanctuary named Umred Karhandala WildLife Sanctuary in Vidarbha region of our State, a tigress which has five tiny cubs supposedly her way was blocked by gypsies' which are used for safari & clip / video of this incidence has gone viral on social media! Most people didn't even bother or care whether the place is in UKWS as the message went under the name of tadoba, reason is, #tadoba gets more views than #ukws so who cares where the incident has happened, just post it, is the trend! Point is not about clip being viral point is about the reaction which is outcome of such clips not just by social media (netizens) but by the system & as usual at the receiving end of stick were people who I wont say totally innocent but surely are not the only culprits, is my subject of sharing (read as frustration)! On top of it, some Hon High Court Justice on own has got a complaint or whatsoever filed & asked the senior most forest officer to look into the matter & give justification in two days (as per news)! With all due respect, in two days what justification the Hon Court expects, that wildlife tourism is wrong & the tigress with her cubs were blocked or harassed & what? Just because one clip gets viral, the entire wildlife protection system you get under scanner, this is why the forest dept & wildlife conservation at large is in mess & this attitude of our entire system (including media) is the main culprit or say obstacle in the wildlife conservation is my accusation with all my senses alive!
Because in the entire world when the tiger's population was on decrease & the species was near extinct not only in our country it survived but the numbers have increased is a fact on record & this was possible only because of the very same forest dept & wildlife tourism! Today, in the villages around tadoba where density of the tigers (numbers of tigers per sq km) are maximum, way above than averages, has Hon Court ever thought why these people residing among the tigers doesn’t hate the tigers but protects them at the cost of their own lives as well that of their cattles, it's only because of right wildlife tourism! They know tiger bachega to paisa milega aur paisa milega to life sudhregi (please translate on google)! And what's their crime, entire family is dependant on a tiger, a boy works in some near by resort, mother cooks meal in some dhaba or hotel, man in the family is either guide or van-majur or driver of gipsy or helper in resort, some family has a small souvenir shop near gate or on the village road & such thousands of people around project tigers survive only because of the presence of the tigers on the tourists which comes to see those tiger! No, Hon Court Sir, I see no wrong as when people spent thousands of rupees to see a tiger as from that money only somewhere even the tiger also makes its living is a fact! High time you must understand this fact about wildlife as because only if you understand & respect this algorithm of wildlife tourism then the entire system will understand & respect it, that’s the only way you can protect tiger, is my purpose of sharing!
Coming back to blocking path of a tiger or any animal, that is not right, so find a way & reasons why its happening in the first place! Sir, even in the city like Pune where so called educated & intellectual people live, people doesn’t follow basic traffic rules & these very same people are the tourists which goes to see the tiger in UKWS or tadoba or Melghat & what do you think they must be pressuering to the drivers & the guides of those gipsies, but break the rules & show them the tiger, that’s the problem! Instead of banning or punishing the people in the forests, make these tourists realize why are they visiting forests & what they should not do in the forest & how they will suffer if they pressurise the forest people to break the rules, that's the right way of wildlife tourism, is what expected from you! At the same time with ten thousand traffic police in Pune city alone, they can't manage people breaking traffic rules how you expect with mere some hundred plus staff the forest dept is able to manage thousands of sq km forests & people in them, so beter ask Mai bapp govt to pump money in the forest dept for right infrastructure, that’s is my subject of sharing!
At the same time, high time for all the people related & working for the forest (read as gipsy drivers & guides) that if you succumb to the greed or pressure of your tourists then its your future only is at stake! Imgaine, you are a Ola/ Uber cab driver in the city & however in hurry your client may be, will you jump Railway Gate or Red Signal risking your life, under his or her pressure, No, is the answer, then why in the forest you guys do such things, is the question I will ask to you all! As well, while you are in a safari be very clear why you are doing this, to earn some money we all know but that money will vanish if someday the wildlife tourism itself will get banned, right? Rather speak less on cell phones in the safari, let the tourists see the tiger & all the wildlife naturally the way it comes to them, that’s more fun, make them understand this aspect of wildlife. And to make such a thing happen, Hon Court, see that forest dept ensures proper training of every person related with the forest. There are many good officers in the forest dept who have given their life & sacrificed family time for wildlife conservation, our system’s such attitude will demoralise them all & that will be great loss to the wildlife, is my subject of sharing with due respect!
Please understand wildlife, visit the forests as a common tourist, meet people living there & feel their problems & then make judgement about wildlife & tourism here! Oh yes, please do something for the road kills of thousands of wild animals outside the forests instead, nobody does anything about it ever! Rather as I said open up all the forests in the country with right infrastructure & let everybody enjoy the real wildlife, that is the way to conserve this asset which nature has gifted to our country with, & high time for the judicially to do it before it's too late or else not only the tigers but many wonderful species will exist on the social media & in the virtual world only, adios with this warning!
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Sanjay Deshpande
Sanjeevani Dev.
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