VALMIKINAGAR: The anti-poaching kits that they have received will go a long way in boosting the morale of the beleagured staff of the Valmiki Tiger Reserve in the northwest corner of Bihar.

More than 100 staff of Valimiki TR were given away anti-poaching kits at the end of the intensive training programme that was conducted by the Wildlife Trust of India under the aegis of its Van Rakshak Project, Wild Aid programme here earlier this month.

The general training programme did set them all thinking. However, Mr Sadanand Jha, a Range Officer, felt the need for attuning the programmes from a specific local perspective. “After all, many problems which exist elsewhere may not be pertinent for our protected area, and vice versa,” he said. Mr Ram Chandra, Forester, emphasised on the need for more practical sessions, which he thought should be spread out over a week at least. Mr Samuh Prasad Singh, Forester, believed it would be all themore helpful if such trainings were an annual feature.

The staff have to act as lone rangers all the time. Not only are they not authorised to carry firearms, they have to go about discharging their duties all alone in the jungles of a state where law and order are a major problem. Left-wing extremism is not a major cause for concern here yet (though they do operate on a small scale within Valmiki TR and across the border in Chitwan National Park of Nepal), forest personnel have to face hostilities from the locals. And this they have to do it on foot all the while — the TR has only two vehicles at its disposal.

Valmiki Tiger Reserve is huge — sprawling over an area of 880 sq km. All that the TR has at its disposal are 100-odd personnel. Foresters and Forest Guards are, hence, have to venture out into the jungles virtually on their own. Mr Inder Ram, Forester, said, “The staff is scattered all over this huge park. The concept of joint patrolling should be introduced so that patrolling is both effective and is safe for the staff.”

At present, it simply isn’t. All that a forest staff has with himself is a lathi, and the company of a tracker (called, cattle guard by the staff) to ward off encroachers and poachers. More often than not they have to encounter groups who outnumber them hopelessly. Mr Virendra Kumar Singh, Forest Guard, said acting as the sentinels of the Tiger Reserve can be unnerving, while Mr Ram Chandra, Forester, went on to insist that senior officers too must participate in joint patrolling exercises at times.

This was one aspect that was highlighted time and again. Mr Premanand Jha, Foreter, said there was little coordination between the senior officers of the Tiger Reserve and the lower staff. Mr Vijay Anand, Forester, echoed Mr Jha’s views, and asserted that so long as there remained a yawning gap, protecting this crucial national park would be an uphill task.

The Chief Wildlife Warden of Bihar, Mr Bashir Ahmed Khan, who was present during the first two days of the training programme, admitted the lacunae that existed, and went on to say that the forest department was now streamlining things in the state so that habitat management could become easier and effective.

The staff have had their share of financial worries. On October 14, 2001, all the field staff of the Tiger Reserve, Range Officer and below, had walked out of theprotected area to the reserve’s headquarters, about 35 km away in Bettiah. They were protesting against the non-payment of salaries to them for more than 14 months. The park remain unattended and left wildlifers elsewhere gravely concerned.

Mr Ashok Kumar, Senior Advisor and Trustee of the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) was quick to react. He filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court, seeking its intervention. Mr Kumar was to note, “It is a sacrilege that the staff of the Valmiki Tiger Reserve has not been paid their salaries for over a year. Does the government want to stop poaching or encourage it?”

The court, in due course, issued notices to both the state and the central governments. The state government reacted immediately and released the funds that had been earmarked for the salaries of the staff. Today, the staff of Valmiki Tiger Reserve get their salaries, and they get it on time, says Mr DK Shukla, Field Director.