This story is from November 6, 2019

Kolkata couple rides 36,000 km for tiger conservation

A couple from Kolkata is out on a bike journey to create awareness on conserving wildlife and environment. Rathindranath Das and Gitanjali Dasgupta reached Ranchi after visiting Palamu Tiger Reserve late on Monday.
Kolkata couple rides 36,000 km for tiger conservation
Rathindranath Das and Gitanjali Dasgupta at Ranchi on Monday.
RANCHI: A couple from Kolkata is out on a bike journey to create awareness on conserving wildlife and environment. Rathindranath Das and Gitanjali Dasgupta reached Ranchi after visiting Palamu Tiger Reserve late on Monday.
The couple — who started their journey in February from Sunderbans in West Bengal — has visited all the 50 tiger reserves across the country, having ridden for over 36,000km.

ranchi more

Inspired by a forest department signboard in Kolkata that urged citizens to contribute towards the conservation of flora and fauna, Das, a passionate biker and a wildlife enthusiast, decided to travel across the country to create awareness. “We started with the tiger reserves in India. Tigers are a significant part of the food chain. If their numbers fall, the chain will collapse. So I decided to cover all the 50 tiger reserves in the country to create awareness among the people residing on the periphery of these areas,” he said.
Das raised concerns about the increasing incidents of man-animal conflict in protected areas and said that unregulated expansion of infrastructure in violations of rules is the main reason behind the phenomenon. People flocking to places of worship in reserves is also leading to such conflicts.
“For instance, in Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh, where cases of such conflicts are reported every month, villagers on the periphery of forests believe that the forest department left tigers in their
sugarcane fields. However, it is the villagers who have encroached and started farming in the protected areas. Tigers get into the sugarcane fields looking for water and food,” Das said.
He highlighted that a few tiger reserves are working well and face trouble from tourists as they don’t follow instructions. “Bandipur in Karnataka and Melghat in Maharashtra are doing a good job. They have been able to increase the green cover in the core areas over the last five years,” he said.
Das has been associated with Wildlife Crime Control Bureau since 2015 years and works in anti-poaching and wildlife conservation campaigns.
End of Article
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA