Nainital: The country's first and one of the prominent national parks Jim Corbett National Park`, home to hundreds of tigers amidst the foothills of the Himalayas in the Nainital district of Uttarakhand witnessing illegal encroachment by the "Mazars" that have mushroomed inside the National Park.
It came as a surprise, that a place that was restricted for a walk, how Mazars and shrines were raised, and the administration kept sleeping over it. As per the data provided by the forest officials to the administration, there are a total of four "Mazars" in the areas that fall under the restricted area of the national park.
One of the Mazar comes under the Ramnagar forest division, which is 5 km from Ramnagar, beyond the Ringoda area, and known as 'Bhure Shah Sher Ali Baba'. The Mazar had a large poster with the number ‘786’ and ‘Urs of Bhure Shah Sher Ali Zulfkar Dadmiyan’ inscribed on the top of it and looked well maintained, freshly painted and a ‘chadar’ had also been offered.
The second Mazar is located in the Jhirna block under the Jhirna range, which was established in the year 1990 by the villagers, but when the Jhirna range was established in the year 1991, the entire village got included in the protected forest area and villagers migrated the place.
Similarly, the third Mazar named "Kalu Shaheed Mazar" is located in the Sonanadi Range of Kalagarh Tiger Reserve Division, which is also called the buffer zone of the Corbett Tiger Reserve.
Over the whole issue, BJP state spokesperson Shadab Sham said, "Officials have been directed to investigate the matter if the construction of these "mausoleums" in the reserve forest has happened recently, then action will definitely be taken on it. It is a matter of investigation that when these Mazars were built, if it is raised intentionally by some anti-social elements to disrupt peace and harmony, then state government has a very clear policy on such incidents and no one will be spared"
Recently, a scam too got unearthed in the park, and the Vigilance Department has registered an FIR against the accused officials including an IFS official, alleging illegal construction, and budget allocations without the recommendation of the Kalagarh Division.
On May 22, 2022, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami raised his concerns over illegal Mazars mushrooming up in various parts of the state and assured action.
