Sighting the tiger in its natural habitat is one of the most breathtaking experiences. But how many of us can boast of such a captivating sight of our national animal' Or how many of us who have actually been lucky to sight one can get our children to experience this rare and majestic sight'

Ironically, in a country which celebrates the tiger as its national animal, only a few patches inside a handful of sanctuaries - a meagre three per cent of the country's area - are reserved for wildlife. Nonetheless, even these reserves are not free from human interference. The Bandipur National Park (BNP), a 880 sq km reserve zone in the 5,500 sq km Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, is no exception.

Endowed with diverse geographical and deciduous vegetation, the park supports a remarkable assemblage of large mammals, birds, insects and reptiles. According to wildlife experts, the BNP is, perhaps, the best remaining stretch of habitat for the Asiatic elephant. The diversity and density of bigger mammals in the park is astounding, and comparable only to the Savannahs of Africa.

'The park is not free from human pressure despite being demarcated from the outside world,' points out Bandipur Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF) Yatish Kumar. According to him, there are 150 villages dotting the periphery of Bandipur National Park in which around 1.5 lakh people and an equal number of livestock exist.

'The 25,000-odd families in these villages extract an average of 10 kg of firewood everyday, which amounts to a staggering 2,50,000 kg of firewood everyday,' he explains. As the socio-economic conditions of these people are driving them towards self-destruction, no conservation efforts to improve their plight could be meaningful and sustainable.

So the BNP has embarked on a novel project to provide alternative cooking fuel to the villages to cut down the demand for firewood inside the park. Towards realising this objective, the BNP has established Namma Sangha, Bandipur, a registered body which plans to provide cooking gas connectivity for each of the families living on the forest boundary.

Mr Kumar disclosed that the Sangha has plans to raise Rs 1.5 crore, which will be earmarked for providing gas stoves and connections for the 25,000 families.

Pilot study
A pilot study has revealed that more than 80 per cent of them are willing to take up the offer, which warrants a financial contribution from each family.
'We are not giving the connection free of cost as a step to encourage people. A refundable deposit of Rs 750 will be taken from them. A total of Rs 1,100 will be charged per connection which includes the refundable deposit and the cost of the cylinder,' he explains.

However, the BNP authorities will provide quality stoves to them free of cost. 'We are expecting funds for this through contributions from wildlife enthusiasts and those interested in conservation,' he explains. All donations to the Sangha receive tax exemption.

Eco-development
Mr Kumar informed that the initiative has been launched under the Eco-Development Project (EDP) of the Centre. 'The concept behind this project is to reduce the consumption of firewood of the park, thereby easing pressure on the national parks,' the DCF notes.

Mr Kumar hopes that through this project, the pressure on firewood will come down, thereby helping in conservation of trees on the forest periphery.
'The degradation of forest trees since last 20 years on the park boundary is due to constant firewood consumption. Human inhabitation is the main reason for this situation,' he explains.

Voluntary move
Over 3,000 villagers have come forward to take the LPG connection on their own, which is an indication of the success of the BNP authorities' efforts to create awareness on conservation. They hope that many more will come forward and be a part of the initiative in future.

Besides arranging for bank loans to the people for getting the LPG connections, the forest department has also approached the Social Welfare Department and Mysore Zilla Panchayat to sponsor the connections to the forest families.

The Social Welfare Department is understood to have agreed to sponsor connections to the families belonging to Scheduled Caste communities. At the same time, the Mysore Zilla Panchayat has decided to sponsor LPG connections for the families living in at least three villages.

Meanwhile, a non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have also evinced interest in the project. An NGO called Myrada, which has a base in the H D Kote taluk of Mysore district, has agreed to share 50 per cent of the costs on the connections. Villages that fall in the NGO's working areas, would be benefited from their move.

Villages identified
The BNP authorities have identified 2,000 to 3,000 villages for providing the LPG connections through the department. The identification of the villages has been carried out randomly.

To ensure hassle-free supply of LPG cylinders to the villages, the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has granted LPG dealership to the BNP.

After a meeting, the senior IOC officials agreed to sanction dealership to the park as a supportive measure. 'This is extremely convenient for us as it helps us to supply the cylinders without extra costs like transportation charges etc,' the DCF says.

The BNP is now awaiting a 'No Objection Certificate' (NOC) from the Explosives Department, Chennai for building a godown for storing the cylinders.

Though only a few families have responded to the initiative, the BNP authorities are optimistic that all the families will be covered once the project gets under way.

The Namma Sangha is at Bandipur, Bandipur National Park, Gundlupet Taluk, Chamarajnagar district, Karnataka-571126.