Activity Update April 2015: Navegaon-Nagzira

Team:

Mukund Dhurve         - Conservation Officer

Jivraj Salam                 - Field assistant

Salimkumar Dhurve    - Field assistant

Highlights

·      3 water conservation activities – programmes to clean water holes in compartments  No. 107, 109, 112  

·      Assisted in fighting fire in forest on one occasion

·      Joined Forest Department staff on 4 patrols

·      2 community assistance voluntary work project – programme to clean area next to hand pumps at Mangezari and Jindatola

·      1 anti-plastic programme at Mangezari

·      Organized 5 education programmes in which 916 students participated

·      Organized 6 medical camps at which 129  patients got free treatment

·      Putting water pots for birds at Mangezari and Pongezara

 Conservation 

Water pot for birds

Our team organized 2 community assistance programmes on April 9 and 26 to clear the area around hand pumps at Mangezari and Jindatola respectively. Unemployed youths from Mangezari participated in both programmes which were led by Mukund and Salimkumar.

Water had spilled over while people drew from the hand pumps and had stagnated, leading to proliferation of mosquitoes and insects. Our teams cleared the area, removing scum and organic growth and dug canals to drain away the water.

Our team joined the Forest Department in night patrols on the road from Mangezari to Kodebarra, Mangezari to Jindatola and Mangezari to Govindtola on April 11, 12, 18, and 20. Patrolling was intensified in the area after a leopard was spotted on April 11 as officials wanted to monitor its movement and ensure that it was safe from poachers.

The area is known to attract poachers as power cables are strung on poles erected by the side of the road. In the past, there have been instances of poaching on this road when poachers used hooks and wires to draw power from the cables and killed animals by electrocution. Sometimes, wires are drawn several hundred meters into the jungle from the cables. At least one gaur and one leopard have been killed over the past year, using this method. Besides our staff, volunteers from a youth club at Mangezari also joined in the patrols. The youth club was set up with our assistance and is mentored by Mukund Dhurve.

Night patrol, Mangezari-Kodebarra road

Patrol, Compartment No. 107

On April 14, 25 and 26, we organized day patrols during which our team cleaned waterholes in Kalagota, Compartments no. 107,112 and 109 respectively. The water bodies were clogged with organic litter and dust. Our team removed the litter and de-silted the water bodies.

Cleaning Compartment No. 109

On April 4, our Mobile Health Service (MHS) unit was going to Thadezari village to conduct a medical camp in the village. On the way, the team noticed smoke in the forest around 0.5 km from Thadezari village. On checking, the team found that there was a fire which had already consumed around one hectare of forest. Our team, including Dr Bhasme, MHS coordinator Siddharth Kale, driver Suresh, Mukund Dhurve, Jivraj Salam and Salimkumar Dhurve, brought the fire under control and informed the Forest Guard Mr. Parteki stationed in the village.

Our MHS team putting out a fire near Thadezari

On April 7, Mukund, Salimkumar and Jivraj and 3 students from Zilla Parishad Primary School, Mangezari, conducted an anti-plastic programme in which they collected plastic and polythene litter from the school campus and Gram Panchayat campus. The plastic litter has been kept in our Mangezari office and will be sent to Tiroda for recycling. Photo below.

The Government of Maharashtra has issued the buffer zone notification for the Navegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve. Following this, doubts have sprung up in the minds of villagers as to how they will be affected by the notification. Due to the doubts, some villagers are opposing the notification. To clear these doubts and misgivings, we organized a total of 4 awareness programmes during April in 4 villages – Thadezari, Umarzari, Pitezari and Lendezari.

VEDC meeting at Thadezari

Education

There were 5 environment education programmes in schools during April.

The programmes focused on the collection of seeds, which will be used for plantation programmes during the monsoon.

Photos: Mukund Dhurve speaking to students at Kurhadi

Education van

There were no film shows on nature and wildlife conservation in April as schools were busy with annual exams and later shut down for the annual summer vacation.

MHU

There were 6 health camps in April.

Dr Bhasme at our free health camp