Villagers in eye of the tiger, politicians miss the point
Campaign trail grows cold in tiger country as candidates hardly visit places at the epicentre of the man-animal conflict compounded by people encroaching on forests.
With the tiger count going up and human settlements getting too close to the forests and even encroaching on the habitat for wildlife, the man-animal conflict poses an everyday challenge in the Terai region of Uttar Pradesh, but the issue is absent from the Lok Sabha poll discourse, much to the dismay of the residents.
Take the case of Khairteya village. Politicians are conspicuous by their absence here even though tigers are a common sight for the about 4,000 residents living in over 650 households spread over 1678.19 hectares under Nighasan tehsil of Lakhimpur Kheri district.
“Tiger sighting you may assume is a daily routine. I have known at least eight people who lost their lives in man-animal conflict, including four in this village in the past three years. But the issue is not being addressed properly,” says Pragat Singh, 54, village pradhan (head).
While the plight of the villagers is tragic, the big cat is clearly not the villain as the situation is compounded by man getting too close to the forests and even encroaching on them.
Kaushalya is one such villager whose 35-year-old son Bhola Singh was killed by a tiger in his field about three months ago.
“It happened in front of fellow villagers. The tiger placed its jaw behind his neck. Within minutes, Bhola was lifeless. As villagers shouted, the tiger left the body and ran away,” says Kaushalya, wiping her tears.
Kaushalya looks after the field with her younger son Sooraj, 20, while the daughter-in- law takes care of the two granddaughters.
“We got ₹4 lakh as compensation, but the money will run out soon. Who will look after my family then?” asks Kaushalya, a native of Khairteya village (code 135054 according to census 2011).
Khairteya village is located along the Girwa river, which has a core forest area on its other bank. Most of the residents are third or fourth generation dwellers here.
Wild animals come to prey and drink water even during the day and enter village too.
In view of the danger, villagers comprising Jat Sikhs, Rai Sikhs, Rajbhars, Mauryas in Dabrajpur (1200 voters), Majrapur (7000 voters), Murtia (200 voters) now return home after 4pm, even before twilight.
“Many times, a tiger has passed by the boundary wall of my house but hasn’t entered luckily,” says Pragat Singh.
This and other villages have electricity. During the day trains run through the village thrice and tigers roam at night.
At least 120 people have died between 2018 and 2024 and at least 350 sustained injuries in attacks by tigers and other big cats in the region, according to the available data.
Sixty-one such deaths and 248 injuries were reported in Kartaniya forest range, 48 deaths and injuries to 86 people in north Kheri and 21 deaths and 20 injuries in Pilibhit.
Villagers say as the number of tigers increases, the incidents will rise further.
“Ever since tiger killed my husband, I have been taking care of our daughter. Life has come to a standstill,” says Laxmi Kaur of Nayapind village.
The situation has coincided with the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve (DTR) being ranked number four in the country among tiger reserves according to the “Status of Tigers” report released in 2023. Encouragingly enough, U.P’s tiger count went up from 173 in the 2018 census to 205 in 2022. The rise is almost double (88.07%) since 2006 when there were 109 tigers in the state. DTR reported 135 tigers.
“Losing a life means losing an entire family. The government should think of giving us jobs to sustain lives in the absence of earning members who are eaten by tigers,” says Sheero, another woman who lost her husband in a tiger attack.
The major man-animal conflict zones include Dudhwa buffer zone -- Bhira range/Mailani range/ Tatarganj (Pilibhit) area in the Sampurnanagar range.
The Manjhra Purab range, next to the Khairteya turned into a man-animal conflict zone in last four years. Biotic influences and fragmentation of the corridor between Dudhwa and Katarniaghat jungles are stated to be the reason for this.
In the Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary, the Motipur range, Kakarha range, Sujauli range are a troubled area for humans as are Gola, Maheshpur and Mohammadi in the South Kheri forest division.
The Dudhwa Tiger Reserve serves as an ideal habitat for carnivores, herbivores, reptiles, amphibian and avivan species including swamp deer, Royal Bengal tigers, Asian elephants and one-horned rhinos. It was brought under the ambit of Project Tiger in 1987.
Dudhwa Tiger Reserve stretches across 890 square km from Lakhimpur Kheri to Bahraich districts. It comprises three protected areas -- Dudhwa National Park (263 sq km), Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary (227 sq km) and Katerniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary (400 sq km).
As result of man-animal conflict in DTR, a total of ₹52,67,648 was paid as compensation in 2017-18. In 2018-19, the amount was ₹82,25,037.
In 2019-20, it was ₹18,98,400 and in 2020-21 ₹25,17,304. In 2021-22, ₹14,75,700 was given. For the year 2022-23, ₹7,98,000 was approved as compensation.
THE SOLUTION
As part of solution to the man-animal conflict, fencing is being done by the forest department near villages. About 10-feet high poles are being placed with fences to restrict animals’ entry into villages but villagers say this isn’t enough.
“Fencing with thin wire is about 7-feet above the ground. It is necessary to get thick wire up to 15-feet (height) to restrict animals,” says Pragat Singh.
Rupak De, former principal chief conservator of forest, says fences are not the solution.
“Tiger is basically a shy animal predator which avoids human interface. It preys in tall grass with people settling near forests to grow crop. This makes the ground clear and the tiger has to move more to get prey,” he says.
“Man needs to avoid encroaching on forests. Also crops that do not attract animals which are the tigers’ prey should be grown. Onion and garlic are not eaten by tigers’ prey hence such crop (should be grown). If the prey remains away from villages, so will tigers,” De suggests.