Activity Update January 2018: Pench Maharashtra

Highlights:

THE FULL REPORT

Team: Abhijit Dutta – Assistant Director (Conservation)

Bandu Uikey – Assistant Conservation Officer

            Dilip Lanjewar, Balkrishna Bagmare – Field assistants

Highlights

·      Participated in All India Tiger Estimation 2018

·      Three community foot patrols

·      One anti-plastic campaign and two awareness rallies

·      Three nature trails for school students

·      Conservation awareness meetings on Republic Day

·      Twelve school education programs

·      Placement follow-up of fourteen candidates sent for hospitality training

·      Job placement of four youths

·      Organic farming training for farmers

·      Six free medical camps

Conservation

Bandu and Balkrishna helped the Forest Department staff during the All India Tiger Estimation 2018 from January 21-24 in Ghorad and Ghatkukda Beats respectively. Separate transects were covered for herbivore and carnivore estimation. 

Community foot patrols were carried out in Wagholi, Khapa & Dhawlapur in January 2018. Foot patrolling ensures protection to the forests in the form of detection of any illegal activities or detection of traces and signs of wild animals.

Apart from awareness rallies, meetings, anti-plastic campaign and Republic Day celebration that were conducted in January 2018, a huge campaign was run against Survival International, a UK based NGO.

Survival International started a media campaign and appealed to global tourists to boycott Indian Tiger Reserves. In reply, guides, drivers and villagers staged protests and started a signature campaign to flay Survival International’s appeal. Local people who belong to tribal communities are reaping benefits from tourism due to tiger reserves and they completely disagree with the statement that tiger reserves are a tool to suppress tribes. Protests were carried out with guides and drivers at Sillari and Khudsapar gates of Pench Tiger Reserve, Maharashtra. Similar protests were carried out with village eco-development committee members in Kirangisarra, Wagholi, Khapa and Pipariya from January 18-21, 2018.

Nature trails were conducted for school students of Sawara, Khapa and Siladevi during which students were informed about local flora and fauna and were educated about issues like man-animal conflict through various nature games.

Environmental Education

During the month of January, twelve school education programs were carried out in Pench with a total of 338 students in attendance.

IT Education Program

Satpuda Foundation has donated desktops as well as laptops to the Zilla Parishad School in Sawara village and has been conducting IT education program for the students free of cost since the year 2013. Sita, a resident of Sawara village works on an honorarium basis for Satpuda Foundation and teaches the students. Four such classes were held in the month of January 2018.

Employment Cell

Dilip had informed, mentored and helped 14 youths from East Pench villages to join PACE hospitality training at Sillari throughout the year 2017. While keeping track of these 14 youth, Dilip got to know that all the 14 youths have got campus placements at PACE itself and are now earning between 5000-8500 rupees per month. 

Livelihood Meetings

One livelihoods meeting was held on January 25 at Chargaon by Balkrishna at which participants were informed about various opportunities and Government Livelihood training schemes offered through the Panchayat Samiti. They include technician, electrician, diesel motor technician, etc. The candidates were encouraged to apply for the programmes of their choice.

Four farmers from Usripar & Ghoti were trained in the basics of organic farming from January 16-21 at Go Vigyan Kendra, Deolapar.

We helped the Saila Dance Group to get four performances at resorts in January 2018. This group, which performs traditional Gond tribal dances, was set up by us and is mentored by us. The members earn additional income by performing at resorts.

Bandu helped 3 youth from Ghatpendari village to get a job at Krishnadevrai breakers, a disassembly factory at Surat.

Dilip informed two youths about vacancies in TRACT and helped them to prepare for the interviews. They both cleared the interviews.

Balkrishna took 9 candidates trained at Ashok Leyland Driver Training Institute in Chhindwara through our initiative, to RTO Nagpur for RTO tests.

Mobile Health Service (MHS)

There were 6 medical camps held in January 2018 in which 220 patients were treated.

Activity Update January 2018: Tadoba

Highlights:

Khutwanda youths participate in a foot patrol in the forest

Cleanliness drive at Dewada

Conservation rally at Katwal

Construction of a check dam at Katwal

Check dam at Katwal made by students and other villagers

Field Assistant Kishor Dudhbarai briefs students before a nature trail,
Khutwanda

Khutwanda - wildlife film screening

Khutwanda students on a nature trail

Conservation rally in Khutwanda

Mudholi: Womens' SHG Valmiki Mahila Bachat Gat
attend a meeting to discuss livelihood options

Conservation rally in Mudholi

THE FULL REPORT

Team:

Conservation Officer: Mr. Ajay Poddar

Field Assistant: Mr. Kishor Dudhbarai

·      4 anti-plastic drives and programmes to prevent man- animal conflict - 86 villagers participated

·      1 check dam constructed in Katwal village - 18 youths participated

·   1 foot patrol in Tadoba buffer with youths of Khutwanda village- 7 youths participated

·      5 women SHG meetings were organised- 42 members attended

·      3 VEDC meetings were organised- 25 members attended

·      Meeting for drivers training programme- 40 unemployed youths attended   

·      7 environmental education programmes including presentations, film shows, nature trail in Zilla Parishad (ZP) schools - 214 students attended

·      3 wildlife conservation awareness rallies - 352 students participated

Conservation 

On January 5, 16, 25, and 28 we organised cleanliness and anti- plastic programmes with villagers and students of Zilla Parishad (ZP) schools of Katwal, Khutwanda, Kondegaon and Dewada villages. Programmes were organised to clean the area in and around the village and around the hand pumps and wells and to prevent man-animal conflict as wild growth provides shelter to snakes and scorpions.

On January 12, we constructed a check dam in the Moharli buffer. 18 young villagers and students of Katwal village participated in the programme.  

On January 29, following information from farmers about a sub-adult male tiger’s movement around their farmlands, we organised a foot patrol with the Forest Department in the Tadoba buffer zone involving 7 local youths from Khutwanda village.

The aim was to monitor the predator’s movement and also to spot any threats like snares, traps, electric fencing etc. around the area. The youths were taught about the dynamics of community patrolling in forest areas and how to identify scrape marks on trees, scats (predator and prey), identification of plants, birds and insects.

Environment Education

On January 13, 17 and 24, we organised wildlife conservation awareness rallies with students of Saraswati Maha Vidhyalaya, Mudholi and Zilla Parishad (ZP) schools of Khutwanda and Katwal. A total of 352 students participated in the rallies along with their teachers. Rallies were organised in order to convey the message of wildlife conservation and to raise awareness about wildlife and nature in the landscape and its short and long term benefits.

On January 4 we organised a nature trail for students of ZP school, Khutwanda, where students learned about migratory birds and identification of plants.

Education Programmes

On January 18, 19 and 20, our team visited ZP schools of Dewada, Adegaon, Sitarampeth, Mudholi, Khutwanda and Kondegaon to show wildlife documentaries and films. A total of 214 students attended the programmes. 

Employment Cell 

We organised 5 Self-Help Group (SHG) meetings and 3 Village Eco-Development Committee (VEDC) meetings, focusing on alternative livelihoods which will reduce villagers' dependence on the forests. 67 villagers attended these meetings. Our team introduced the villagers to district-level vocational training and employment schemes like four-wheeler driver’s training, hospitality courses under Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gramin Kaushal Yojna (DDUGKY) etc. 

We also spoke to candidates interested in four- wheeler driver’s training and introduced them to residential driver’s training programmes at   Ashok Leyland training centre, Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh and Raipur. 

Details of the programmes are given below: