Nagpur: The decision of forest officials to not conduct waterhole (machan) census this year at Pench and Tadoba on Buddha Purnima on April 30 was met with mixed reactions from regular participants. Some called the decision wrong and misuse of power others welcomed it citing lack of seriousness among participants as one of the primary reason.
On February 8, PCCF (wildlife) issued directions not to keep it binding on field directors to conduct the waterhole census. Pench and Tadoba officials have decided to give it a miss this year while Melghat will charge the participants Rs1,500 per person for the activity.
Expressing displeasure over the decision, wildlife enthusiast Anant Dorlikar said, “The move will result in decrease in wildlife awareness among the public. The officials are getting an estimate figures of the different animals. Moreover, the activity also provides a noteworthy experience to wildlife lovers.”
Dorlikar, who has been participating in the census for the past 17 years, added, “The forest officials are charging the participants thus the activity cannot be considered as outdated or non-beneficial.”
Dorlikar is not the only one upset at the decision. Robin Sonkar, who has been part of the activity for the past 20 years, said, “Machan census has proved quite helpful to the officials as real wildlife enthusiasts are able to provide correct statistics of the animals. Such events also keep a check on the activities of the forest officials and the exact figures of the waterholes constructed for the benefit of the animals can also be assessed.”
After being part of the census for the past 10 years, Manish Jeswani feels that the census contributes to tourism. “Participants from different parts of Maharashtra and MP plan for the event in advance and closing the activity will not be received well,” he said.
Sagar Gabhane, who has been participating in the census since 2010, said, “Though the census is not foolproof, the real enthusiasts are able to visit parts of the jungle which is not open for public on regular days.”
Taha Uddin, 19, who was eagerly waiting for his first machan census this year, said, “The young generation needs to be made aware about the current scenario of wildlife in our region. Officials cite that most participants are not serious but the activity cannot be stopped owing to the carelessness or ruckus created by some. Quite a lot of people have interest in wildlife and wait eagerly for the activity.”
Having participated in the past 16 machan census, Yakub Wazir feels that the forest officials must find a different path to approach the issue rather than completely dropping the idea. “Proper assessment regarding their interests in wildlife and nature can be done for the one who wants to participate. Certain NGOs look forward to the day to promote wildlife conservation hence dropping the event would be a huge loss for nature lovers,” he said.
Wildlife photographer Amrut Naik, part of past 6 machan census, welcomes the decision and adds that the activity lacked seriousness on part of the participants as well as officials. “The day turns into a picnic and the participants end up disturbing the natural environment. Moreover, census is already being done by modern technologies such as camera tracking and machan census is not required at all,” he said.
Nagpur: The recent decision of forest officials to not conduct waterhole (machan) census this year at Pench and Tadoba on Buddha Purnima on April 30 was met with mixed reactions from the citizens. Some calling the decision wrong and misuse of power others welcome the decision citing lack of seriousness midst the participants as one of the primary reason.
On February 8, PCCF (Wildlife) issued directions not to keep it binding on field directors to conduct the waterhole census. Pench and Tadoba officials submitted have decided to miss it this year while Melghat will charge the participants Rs1500 per person for the activity.
Expressing displeasure over the decision, Anant Dorlikar, said, “The move will result in decrease in wildlife awareness among the public. The officials are getting an estimate figures of the different animals and moreover the activity provides a noteworthy experience to the wildlife lovers.”
Dorlikar, who has been participating in the census for the past 17 years, added, “The forest officials are charging the participants thus the activity cannot be considered as outdated or non-beneficial.”
Dorlikar is not the only one showing concerns on the decision. Robin Sonkar, who has been part of the activity for the past 20 years, said, “Machan census has proved quite helpful to the officials as real wildlife enthusiasts are able to provide correct statistics of the animals. Such events also keep a check on the activities of the forest officials and the exact figures of the waterholes constructed for the benefit of the animals can also be assessed.”
Been part of census for past 10 years, Manish Jeswani feels that the census contributes to tourism. “Participants from different parts of Maharashtra and MP are quite frequent and closing the activity is a bog jolt.”
Sagar Gabhane, who has been participating in census since 2010, opined, “Though the census is not foolproof, the real enthusiasts are able to visit portions of the jungle which is not open for public on regular days.”
19 year old Taha Uddin, who was eagerly waiting for his first machan census this year, said, “Young generation needs to be made aware about the current scenario of wildlife in our region. Officials cite that most participants are not serious but the activity cannot be stopped owing to the carelessness or ruckus created by some. Quite a lot of people have interest in the wildlife and wait eagerly for the activity.”
Participated in the past 16 machan census, Yakub Wazir feels that the forest officials must find a different path to approach the issue rather than completely dropping the idea. “Proper assessment regarding their interests in wildlife and nature can be done for the one who wants to participate. Certain NGOs look forward to the day to promote wildlife conservation hence dropping the event would be a huge loss for nature lovers.”
Wildlife photographer Amrut Naik, part of past 6 machan census, welcomes the decision and adds that the activity lacked seriousness on part of the participants as well as officials. “The day turned into a picnic and the participants end up disturbing the environment. The census is being done by modern technologies such as camera tracking amidst others and machan census is not required.”
