A two day workshop on grass land management is slated for the Palamu tiger reserve beginning April 24. The venue of the workshop is at Betla Nature Interpretation centre.
A retired scientist of the forest research institute of MP R K Pandey is to deliver his keynote address at the grass land management workshop here.
Grass land management is a multipurpose venture in the larger interest of the tiger and other wild life.
Deputy director north division of PTR P K Jena said " It's an irony of a sort as where the forest is dense more, the more scarce is the grass land."
Dense forest halts open patch. Grass land is developed on the open patch and not in the dense forest.Incidentally PTR has little open patches.
Jena said "As of now only 1,200 hectares of grass lands are available in the PTR. It is to be increased for tigers and other wild life."
On being asked as to how to increase the grass lands Jena said "First we have identified and mapping done of the invasive weeds. There are woody growth."
All invasive seeds and woody growth are to controlled and eliminated. Space freed from it will be developed into the grass lands he opined.
PTR is working hard to have a coffer of grass lands in both of its divisions north and south having a total of 8 ranges.
"Forests in the PTR are dense, spread over in over 1,100 square kilometres. And so we have little grass land" repeated Jena.
Theoretically for a healthy tiger reserve it should be 5 to 7 percent of grass land of the total area of that tiger reserve.
"PTR is poor in terms of the percentage of the grass land. It accounts for only little over 1.2 percent of the grass land here" added the PTR officer.
Palamu tiger reserve can draw solace or consolation that it's not only the tiger reserve among 52 plus tiger reserves in India that has a poor feature of the grass land.
"Tiger reserves of Ranthambore, Bandhavgarh to name some few come closer to the PTR in terms of the measurement of the grass land" reminded Jena.
There will be an outbreak of space for the grass lands if core area villages namely Kujrum and Jaigeer move out of the tiger reserve for its relocation elsewhere.
More than three dozen families of Kujrum have moved out of the core areas of the PTR.
Similar preparations are afoot for the resettlement of the people of Jaigeer.
"Once these locales Kujrum and Jaigeer get free of human habitation, there will be enormous space for the grass lands to come up" said Jena.
Now, there is an intrinsic problem.
PTR faces huge issues of cattle grazing where domestic animals, mostly buffaloes of the cattle farmers come for grazing in the PTR.
The problem becomes acute and severe in summer when palatable grasses become insufficient.
These cattle usurp palatable grasses meant for the herbivores of the PTR.
Jena was asked by this correspondent that too many grass lands, if and when developed, may see an explosion of grazing by the cattle of the farmers to which he said "We will have to further intensify our vigil for stopping cattle grazing. We will do all to at least minimize the cattle grazing."
There are around 190 villages in the contiguity of the PTR and cattle are reared in every five of the ten households.
Buffaloes are preferred most to the cows. Intrusion of buffaloes in the PTR is a major issue.
Jena is sanguine that cattle farmers will be wise enough not to push in their cattle into the tiger reserve as when this reserve will have more and more of grasslands, PTR's wild life will be more around making things difficult to the cattle.
