Sunderbans: Despite frequent man-animal conflicts in the Sunderbans, locals have gradually realised the importance of protecting wildlife. Those who used to hunt for a living are now helping conservation, especially the tiger.
“Sunderbans would cease to exist if there are no tigers,” said Swapan Gharami, a local. Gharami said there are only 350 odd forest officials engaged in protecting the forests and it is impossible for them to monitor all islands. “It is only because of tigers that people are afraid to venture into certain areas to exploit forest products,” he said.
Gharami, who calls himself a social worker, said, “Even sometime back, many people used to hunt deer for a living. But now they have realised, there needs to be a balance between man and animals. It is important for both to co-exist.” Poaching of tigers has also reduced considerably and since the last two years, very few locals cut down trees for timber.
But this realisation was not achieved in a day. It was the result of sustained programmes and awareness camps in the Sunderbans by the government and a number of non-government organisations
On May Day, We Stand for Environment and Education an NGO and 24th Asoka Group South Calcutta Bharat Scouts and Guides, organised a programme in Bali 2 island. A free medical camp was also organised for locals.
“The river is the widest between the jungle and human habitation in the Bali island. Yet tigers turn up often in the area inhabited by humans. This is the reason behind holding the programme here,” said Pranjal Das, WEE president.
The scouts enacted a play based on Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book characters, which stressed on the importance of conserving tigers. Locals were pretty amused with the two boys inside one tiger costume.
“The tiger seems to have been hit by the storm Aila,” grinned a local.
Around 300 people gathered to watch the play and were visibly impressed. “It was very entertaining. Several NGOs come and hold awareness campaigns to educate us about issues concerning people living in the Sunderbans,” said Gurupada Manna, a resident of Bali.
“People do not hunt any more. The primary occupations here are fishing and honey collecting. No one cuts trees,” said Krishnapada Maiti, another local.
Pradip Mondal, who claims to have killed 60 to 100 deer, left hunting in 1998. “What is the use? We used to hunt because we did not have anything to eat and that was our only option. But, since then, forest officers employed us in jungle- related jobs and we did not need to hunt anymore,” he said. Mondal now is a guide for tourists in Sunderbans.