Dehradun: The Chief Minister of Uttaranchal, Mr ND Tiwari, presented a cheque of Rs 1 lakh to the widow of a deceased forest guard here earlier this month. The cheque was the final settlement of a supplementary accident insurance scheme that covers 50,000 field forest personnel in the country. The package has been designed by United India Insurance Company (UICC) and is run in association with the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI).Kishore Lal Bahuguna, a forest guard at Rajaji National Park, was killed on duty when a speeding bus overturned and crushed him at the Motichur checkpost of Motichur range in Rajaji NP in October last year.

The cheque was presented during a function organised by the Uttaranchal government to observe Wildlife Week on October 9. A number of organisations were felicitated on the occasion for their efforts to conserve wildlife in the state. Wildlife Trust of India was also felicitated at the function. The state minister for forests, Mr Nav Prabhat, was also present on the occasion.

Mr Ashok Kumar, Senior Advisor and Trustee, WTI, said, “The state government’s gesture was a recognition of our commitment to the conservation of wildlife and habitat in Uttaranchal.” The Executive Director of WTI, Mr Vivek Menon, went on to say, “Uttaranchal is one of the three new states of the Indian Union. All these three states (Jharkhand and Chattisgarh being the other two) have large areas of forest cover and can be called ‘forest states’. With this in the backdrop, any work already done or to be done by WTI in Uttaranchal assumes immense significance.”

Wildlife Trust of India has worked on a number of projects and has also been associated with a number of issues pertaining to wildlife and forests in Uttaranchal. Among other things, WTI has been working with the state forest department to acquire the Chilla-Motichur corridor which is crucial for the movement of elephants. A number of factors have been making it difficult for conservationists to protect elephants here. These include human settlements in and around the area, factories and an army ammunition dump nearby, cattlegrazing , firewood collection, and timber-felling. A study of the ground realities has already been undertaken.

WTI’s Rapid Action Project (RAP) has conducted a detailed study to find out the major causes for accidents along the 23 km of railway tracks between Haridwar and Dehradun that run trough the Rajaji National Park in Uttaranchal. In the last 14 years, as many as 18 elephants have been killed in train accidents here. WTI has been part of a task force formed by the state forest department and the railways to investigate in detail both short and long-term measures to curtail the problem.

A number of initiatives have been taken along the tracks including clearing of vegetation along the blind turnings and putting up of signboards warning train drivers of elephant movement along the tracks. This apart, WTI has been acting as the NGO interface between the Uttaranchal forest department and the nomadic Van Gujjars for their voluntary relocation to other areas.

Wildlife Trust of India has been awarded a contract to conduct a study into illegal wildlife trade and poaching in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal last year. The study also looked at the serious problems of smuggling of wildlife articles from India to Nepal and from there on to Tibet. The study has been completed and the report submitted to the state government.

Moreover, a number of Van Rakshak Project (VRP) training programmes for wildlife personnel have been organised for the staff of Corbett National Park and Rajaji National Park. After the success of a workshop on legal affairs and wildlife in Corbett National Park, WTI plans to organise two more such workshops – one at Haridwar and another somewhere in the higher reaches of the hills.