17 anicuts to be built in Sariska Tiger Reserve

JAIPUR - Rajasthan’s Sariska Tiger Reserve is likely to get about 17 new anicuts at a cost of Rs.80 million to store rain water and help animals brave the harsh summer, an official said.

The proposal has been floated by the water resources department.

We already have sent a proposal to the state government and we hope to get clearance soon. Nabard (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development) is also keen on financing the project, a senior official of the department told IANS.

The Rs.80 million project for building small dams would help store rain water which otherwise goes waste, he added.

The official said that the department on its own has already started work on two anicuts. One of them is being constructed in the Hanuman Sagar area and he other in Karna Ka Baas.

The project may also stop animals from straying into nearby villages of the Alwar district in search of water which becomes scarce with the rise in mercury, he added.

Though forest department officials claimed they normally take steps for ensuring adequate water supply to animals through tankers and tube wells, animal rights activists said the measures were inadequate.

Babulal Jaju, state in-charge of NGO People for Animals, said the steps adopted by the state government are not enough.

“This plan of constructing anicuts is good, provided it is taken up seriously by the forest department,” Jaju said.

The Sariska Tiger Reserve, originally a hunting preserve of the erstwhile Alwar state, was declared a wildlife reserve in 1955. In 1978 it was declared a tiger reserve.

The tiger reserve has an area of around 866 sq km and is located some 110 km from Rajasthan capital Jaipur.

Besides the four tigers that were relocated to the reserve from Ranthambore National Park, in Sawai Madhopur district, it is home to panthers, jungle cats, hyenas, jackals, chitals, sambars, carecals, langurs, wild boars, four-horned deer and several species of birds.