Cheetah trackers in Kuno National Park hold protest
Bhopal:
After many decades, cheetahs roam India for the first time. But questions have been raised about the way cheetahs have been living in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park.
German researchers have raised concerns about Kuno National Park’s ability to manage big cats under Project Cheetah. This time, cheetah trackers working in Kuno have gone on strike, leveling serious accusations against the management.
NDTV approached Kuno to investigate the matter.
There are 26 cheetahs, including 13 cubs in Kuno. Although the park has faced many challenges related to habitat and adaptability, this time the problem is different: cheetah trackers are on strike.
Most of them say they belong to the Gurjars and Yadav castes and therefore cannot handle goat meat to feed the cheetahs. They allege that their salary is extremely low (Rs 9,000) for the type of backbreaking work they do.
For now, the administration is working to find a way to track the cheetahs.
Cheetah trackers say the forest is a dangerous place and their job is to follow the big cats for three or four days at a time. But there is nothing in the name of security and their religious beliefs are not taken into account, the protesters claimed.
There are 80 villages around Kuno, mostly inhabited by Yadavs and Gurjars. They use their organic network of volunteers to track the animals.
Rajveer Gurjar, a villager, said the administration should provide them more support. Sitaram Yadav, another villager, said following the cheetahs for days is exhausting work, but they are paid much less.
The national park management, however, has refused to recognize these cheetah trackers. Park management said they have only employed a few people on the periphery of the reserve.
To a large extent, the problem for cheetah trackers seems to be their jobs. When the cheetahs arrived by plane, there was talk of development in this region of Madhya Pradesh where malnutrition is high.
The villagers expected many tourists to come. But two years have passed and nothing has changed, they alleged. They live in the same broken shacks in the middle of ruined roads.
The only “tourist” facility nearby is the Palpur Resort, which also sometimes receives visitors.