Guwahati: Imagine a Tiger Protection Force (TPF) in a reserve in the Northeast with no gadgets, equipment or other essential devices for effective patrolling duties. This is the state of affairs in the picturesque 545 sq km Dampa Tiger Reserve (DTR) in Mizoram, interspersed with precipitous hills, sparkling streams and rivulets and dominated by moist deciduous forests in the lower reaches, while a mixture of tropical wet evergreen and tropical semi-evergreen forests are found in the rest of the reserve.
DTR is gifted with a very rich floral/faunal diversity which is still unexplored. Out of the 15 primate species in India, eight are found in Dampa.
But when one looks at the way the tiger reserve is functioning, it is not rosy at all.
“Out of a total of 37 field positions, 20 posts (54%) are lying vacant. Against the sanctioned posts of 15 forest guards and 10 foresters, only four persons and one person, respectively, are in position (vacancy of 80%). Apart from the unusually high vacancy, the number of sanctioned field posts in the core area is very low. With a core area of 545 sq km, the sanction of two ranges and eight beats (with sizes ranging from 39 sq km to 54 sq km) is well below the standard norms,” the Management Effectiveness Evaluation (MEE) report of Dampa Tiger Reserve reveals.
To overcome the severe staff shortage, about 176 casual workers have been employed and named the TPF (Tiger Protection Force). But the mode of their deployment is only for 7 days and moving them out to non-patrolling duties is not desirable for efficient smart patrolling. “These TPF staff members have not been provided with gadgets, equipment and devices essential for effective patrolling due to their changing nature of duties and all the devices are lying in the range offices,” the report says.
It has a very small tiger population—in the recent estimation, only one tiger was captured in the camera traps.
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“There are no vehicles for Range Officers, which is a cause of concern keeping in view the need to patrol the area, especially in the rainy season, when the road conditions are bad,” the report says, adding that the wireless sets and equipment have become defunct.
In the absence of wireless communication, the staff is forced to communicate using mobiles. “The network in the tiger reserve is very limited. Efforts should be made to revive the wireless network at the earliest,” the report recommended.
The forest areas within the buffer area of the reserve are still not within the unified command of the Field Director, adversely affecting the buffer area management.
“Eco-tourism has been completely neglected in the Tiger Reserve and as a result of poor eco-tourism infrastructure, such a beautiful area is hardly frequented by tourists,” the report says.
The personal kits and camp equipment are meagre and not as per standard norms. “The essential personal amenities for staff in anti-poaching and observation camps like mosquito nets, machetes, torch lights, water bottles, backpacks and measuring tapes etc as per standard norms should be provided,” the report recommends.
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