Water conservation, voluntary relocation game changer for MTR

Nagpur: A few years ago, regular sighting of wild animals in the Melghat Tiger Reserve (MTR) used to be a joke but water conservation through the ‘Melghat bandhara’ model and voluntary relocation of 20 villages from the core area of the reserve have turned out to be game changers for one of the oldest tiger reserves in the country.

Along with many water conservation steps, voluntary relocation of 20 villages from the core area have helped regain over 1,700 hectares of farm land which have turned into lush green meadows now. If you enter through the rehabilitated Gullarghat, 35km of the stretch till Nagartas is a no-man’s-land with meadows on both sides occupied by wildlife.

As far as water conservation is concerned, the tiger reserve forms an important catchment to Tapi river with tributaries like Dolar, Khandu, Sipna, Gadga, Khapra and Wan rivers. Yet, water is the most prevalent limiting factor after the rainy season but the ‘Melghat bandhara’ model implemented in last three years is working wonders.

“We identified spots of hard rocks in natural streams and drilled them to develop layers of retaining walls to stop water upstream. Usually, water flows out and streams and nullahs used to go dry by January. Now, with Melghat bandhara, water is available for wildlife till May-June. Earlier, we supplied water by tankers at many places during summers, but in the last three years, we constructed over 2,000 such cost-effective diversion weirs in core and buffer area,” said MS Reddy, APCCF & field director of MTR.

“Apart from rejuvenating old water holes, we dug 500 borewells at protection camps and forest colonies and installed over 170 solar pumps, each one connected to three artificial water holes. Our water conservation model is also useful for villagers living on the park’s edge,” added Reddy.

TOI found a water hole every 4sqkm grid of the park. The tiger reserve is spread in 2,768 sqkm (core & buffer) and wildlife and water management is a big challenge, especially when there are still 9 villages inside the core area.

“We plotted the 4sqkm grid by GIS. The basic idea behind water availability at every 4sqkm is equitable distribution of water. While large mammals can move long for water, it fulfils the drinking water need of the localized small mammals,” says Vishal Bansod, honorary wildlife warden.

“Small interventions like building one-metre circular bandhara on Wan River and other streams have proved beneficial. At many places, grass grows in stagnant water which also acts as fodder for herbivores like sambar deer,” says RFO Sunil Wakode, Dhargad.

In MTR, water management has been handled effectively and voluntary relocation of villages is the biggest game changer. Since 2001-2020, 20 villages have been relocated and 4 villages are in the process of being shifted.

“Tiger sighting is no more kidding but a reality. Sightings have increased, especially around the meadows which have been created after resettlement. Melghat is coming out steadily by overcoming many challenges,” says Satpuda Foundation founder Kishor Rithe, working in MTR for three decades.

TOI noticed three big herds of Indian gaurs in inviolate Kelpani and Dhargad feasting on palatable grass available in abundance in meadows. A sloth bear was also a pleasant surprise. A 4-km-long trail of tiger pugmarks from Somthana to Barukheda spoke volumes about the regained lost habitat after voluntary relocation.

Of the 20 villages, around half were relocated during Reddy’s tenure as deputy conservator at Akot and field director now. “We have many problems like vacancies in field staff, encroachments on forest lands, illegal grazing etc. But our officers and field staff are working hard on the ground. The success also goes to my predecessors who built a strong protection network. Our M-STrIPES system of monitoring tigers is bearing fruit. However, we still have many challenges which we are trying to overcome with limited resources,” said Reddy.