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Park employees get uniforms

Special Correspondent

JAIPUR: Two hundred-odd work charge employees at Rajasthan's Ranthambhore National Park gained a new identity and self-esteem on Saturday when State Governor Pratibha Patil presented them with khaki uniforms. Work charge employees, the underdogs among the sanctuary staff all over the country, are not officially entitled to uniforms.

"I hope the uniform would instil a new confidence in the staff," Ms. Patil said, handing over the first of the uniforms, manufactured to order bearing "Ranthambhore Project Tiger" on its margins, at a Raj Bhavan function. She said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who made a trip to Ranthambhore a year ago in the wake of the national level tiger crisis, was much concerned about the health of the Park. "The Prime Minister enquired about the status of the Park some time back," she informed.

Ashok Singhvi, Secretary, Mining, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Abhijit Ghosh and Chief Wildlife Warden R.K.Mehrotra along with conservationist Harsh Vardhan were present at the function, initiated first time in the country, handpicking Ranthambhore from among the 27 Project Tiger reserves. Altogether about 41,000 sq km area is covered by the Project Tiger reserves, which are home to an estimated 3,500-4000 tigers.

A Jaipur based tour agency specializing in eco tourism, Individual and Group Tours, initiated the path-breaking step with the support of the Tourism and Wildlife Society of India. Ranthambhore National Park has 154 regular staff while the number of work charge employees is 202, including five women.

"They are our base," M.L.Meena, Field Director, Ranthambhore, said on the occasion briefing the gathering. "The tigers are now confined to Ranthambhore alone," he said hinting at the absence of wild tigers from Sariska, the other Project Tiger reserve in Rajasthan. Mr. Meena said the biotic pressure, mostly in the form of tourists visiting the Park and devotees on pilgrimage to the famous temples in Ranthambhore Fort and at Kailadevi, posed serious problems to the conservation of wildlife in the Park.

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