Dehradun, July 21
While there have been efforts across the country to secure wildlife corridors, particularly those linked to pachyderms, Dikhuli - a corridor connecting Tiger-famous Jim Corbett National Park to the biodiversity- rich Terai region of Uttarakhand - is shrinking at a rapid rate; thanks to unhindered encroachments.

The Dikhuli elephant corridor, which begins from Ramnagar and goes up to Mohan, covers a distance of 18 kms. Five rivers - Ganga, Kho, Ramganga, Kosi and Sharda - crisscross the Terai region in as many as ten forest divisions.

Among them, Kosi and Ramganga, constitute the lifeline of Corbett. However, encroachments along the river banks, especially Kosi, is hampering the movement of elephants.

What adds to the problem is the fact that National Highway - 121, which connects Ramangar to Ranikhet, is also a part of the corridor and elephants have often been hit by speeding vehicles.

Most of the Dikhuli corridor is under rampant encroachments and only 4.5 km stretch is left free of for the movement of wild animals.

There have also been cases of man-animal conflict. In February this year, a woman was attacked by a tiger in this corridor, following which the animal was captured.

Student leader from Ramangar Deep Gunawant, who has strongly been opposing encroachments at Dikhuli, alleged that the sorry state of affairs is the result of the apathetic attitude of forest officials.

Citing an example, Deep said demolition of under-construction motorway by Tarika hotel was only possible after National Students’ Union of India members staged massive protests in the area and submitted memorandums to both the district administration and forest officials.

“Hotel and resort owners are the biggest encroachers, as they resort to unlawful quarrying. Some of them along the Kosi have come up with huge walls extending from five to 20 feet tall towards the river side, which creates massive obstacles in the path of wild animals in the Dikhuli corridor,” added Deep.

Umesh Sati, a Dikhuli resident, said the area has witnessed a spurt in encroachments in the last six to seven years. “While encroachments have increased, there have been little efforts by the administration and forest officials to demolish them,” said Sati.

This key corridor has as many as 40 to 50 big and small hotels. Another 10 hotels have come up in this very season. The situation is worst in the six- kilometre patch between Ladua-Garzia-Dikhuli. At Sundarkhatt, encroachments have mostly been made by locals.

At Aamdanda Khatta, a Forest Department depot impedes the movement of animals.

As the corridor runs along Kosi River, wild animals often come to the river to quench their thirst. However, some hotels have installed huge lights in their backyards, which scare the animals away

The Dikhuli corridor falls under the Ramangar Forest Division, which according to Uttarakhand Forest Department’s statistics has the most number of encroachments.

Albeit forest officials admit to that encroachments are rife, they often find themselves helpless, as most encroachments are now sub-judice. “Dealing with new encroachments is not a problem; they are demolished immediately. However, in case of many old encroachments, the matter lies pending in courts. Therefore, we cannot do much,” said Ramanagar DFO Ravindra Kumar Juyal.

The lack of effective demarcation of land has often compounded the problem. This leads to confrontation between those behind constructions and the forest department. The state government had some time back planned that “Eco-Sensitive Zones” would be announced to secure these key wildlife corridors. But the plan is yet to see light of the day.

Dr Hem Singh Gehlot, a Wildlife Institute of India alumni, who has been undertaking studies on wildlife corridors in Corbett for the past many years, expressed strong concerns over the speedy shrinkage of Dikhuli corridor. “Encroachments need to be tackled promptly or else the Dikhuli corridor will be history. Human-animal conflict will also increase if we fail to secure their corridors,” he observed. 

Dehradun, July 21
The Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organisation (HESCO), a Dehradun-based NGO, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, today for setting up an environmental isotope application laboratory in Dehradun that will recharge water sources in the hills.

The MOU was signed by Dr Anil P. Joshi, founder of HESCO, Dr Sri Krishana Banerji, director, Dr Venugopal Rao, director (research), and Dr Gursharan Singh, head, isotope application division of the BARC.

Dr Joshi said on the phone from Mumbai that it would be the first laboratory of its kind in Asia. Set up at Shuklapur near Dehradun, it would benefit people in the hills in charging the scarce water resources through isotope technology.

Scientists from BARC along with those of HESCO have been working on a pilot project to recharge water springs in Rudraprayag and Chamoli districts of Garhwali in the past few years.

They identified more than 17 dried up springs and their catchment areas by using the isotope technology.

Ponds and check dams were made in these catchment areas by stopping rainwater that led to the recharging of the springs. The villagers benefited by getting water to drink in the summers and winters. The success of the project motivated the BARC scientists to lend HESCO the technology to identify more catchment areas by using isotopes.

Dehradun, July 21
People in large numbers are thronging the shops as Rakhi falls on August 5. The city shops are offering beautiful rakhis of all kinds.

Shopkeepers have started selling rakhis much before the festival as women need to send these to their brothers living far away. “My brother lives in Delhi, therefore, I’ll post him my rakhi in advance so that he gets it on time,” said Surbhi, student. Apart from simple coloured threads, couple rakhis, stone studded rakhis and rudraksh rakhis are very much in vogue this year.

“ This year, rakhis which are sleek and convenient to wear, designed in a bracelet form are preferred as compared to the traditional bulky rakhis. However, rakhi is not just for brothers anymore, couple Rakhis have been introduced this year , which are meant for both ‘Bhaiya and Bhabi’,” said Mamta, a sales girl.