Several related issues are popping up in public discourse since the administration began the massive encroachment-demolition drive in the Bhadbhada dam area. Besides clearing up of encroached spaces covering countless hundreds of acres, the one issue that has engaged public attention is how the Madhya Pradesh Government is going to protect and preserve the tiger population in the Kaliyasot-Kerwa forest complex covering hundreds of square kilometers on the edge of the capital of Madhya Pradesh, a unique distinction by any standard. Environmentalists also talk of several crocodiles that are sighted on the rocks or ground on the edge of the Kaliyasot dam reservoir and needing a careful handling so that they do not fall prey to human interference. This fear stems from a suspicion that the current demolition drive may be a pre-curser to some new developmental idea for which encroachment is being cleared. If this suspicion has any substance, then the tigers may not be able to enjoy a safe haven.

 

As one travels along the curving asphalt road on the edge of the forest area, one comes across caution-signs that tigers may be seen at some spots. The road of about five kilometers is truly beautiful in every sensed — flanked by forest on one side and a mirror-like expanse of the reservoir. It is at such moments that the thought of conservation of forests and their denizens springs up. If an untoward human interference is allowed in increasing proportions thanks to the developmental plans, then the first to be threatened will be the flora and the fauna. It is common knowledge that this forest complex has around a dozen tigers and an equal number of crocodiles, which residents of the near-by areas have seen on multiple occasions in the past few years. There should be no doubt that the Forest Department has an appropriate-sounding explanation of what it intends to do to protect the forests and the wildlife. Yet, doubts persist — which need to be cleared logically and practically.

 

Let alone a few stray incidents of animal-attacks in the past some years, this area can boast of certain cordiality between the denizens of the forest and the citizens of those areas of Bhopal. However, if human interference grows closer to the edge of the forests, then animal-man conflict may arise in the future. This is the most worrisome point that has crept into public discourse recently. Not just the environmentalists but also the common citizens now expect a definitive official response to their fears about the possible threat to the Kaliyasot-Kerwa forest complex. Some sections of the officialdom may try to dismiss such fears as figment imagination of some activists. But superficial dismissal of such fears is not going to quench the public suspicion. What is needed, possibly, is a substantial and convincing plan of action to lend full protection to the woods and the wildlife that has tigers as well as crocodiles besides other layers of the ecological pyramid.