RANCHI: Once considered to be a Maoist hotbed, Budha Pahar will soon become a soft release centre for Chital and help improve the tiger and leopard population in Palamu Tiger Reserve (PTR). According to forest officials, a proposal has been sent to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) for approval and the project will be started as soon as they get a nod from the authority.
The soft release centre is a place where animals are placed in pre-release cages located close to the location where they will be released. After some time, the animals are allowed to go out, but they have an option of returning to the cage for shelter, water and food.
Notably, Budha Pahad, spread over a 55 sq km area was freed from Maoists’ control after 32 years following three coordinated operations carried out by the security forces since April last year. Considered to be the last bastion of Maoists in Jharkhand, Budha Pahar had been a safe haven for Maoists for over three decades due to its difficult topography and inaccessible terrain.
After freeing the area from rebels, for the first time, CRPF and Jharkhand police jointly hoisted the Tricolour on October 23 last year. PTR officials informed that the idea behind the project is to increase the prey base for the predators in the local ecosystem.
“As we have to increase the prayer base for the tiger and leopards in the region, a proposal has been sent to NTCA for setting up a soft release centre for Chital at Budha Pahar and the work will be started as soon as we get a nod from the centre. Initially, nearly 50 Chital from Betla National Forest will be shifted here and released gradually in the nearby jungles as its population starts increasing,” said PTR Field Director Kumar Ashutosh.
As animals are released gradually into the nearby jungles, it is called a soft release centre, he added. According to the PTR Director, the population of Chital is expected to double in a year and will multiply further in a similar way in the soft release centre.
The decision has been taken looking to the fact that the population of Chital in Batla National Park is in access and hence they will be shifted to other places with an intention to increase the prayer base all over the PTR, he said. “Besides being a part of the tiger corridor that stretches from Chhattisgarh to Maharashtra, Budha Pahar region also has a good number of leopard populations proved through the camera traps.
Soft release Centre
The soft release centre is a place where animals are placed in pre-release cages located close to the location where they will be released. After some time, the animals are allowed to go out, however, they are given an option of returning to the cage for shelter, water and food.