Alwar (Rajasthan): Despite having an area larger than Ranthambore National Park, the environment in Sariska Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan's Alwar is not conducive for the Tiger population there.
At present, the Tiger reserve houses 23 tigers and tigresses of Tiger ST-13.
There are two main reasons for a non-friendly tiger environment in Sariska. The main reason is that there are many villages situated in the forest area of Sariska due to which there is a continuous movement of people around the tiger reserve. In such a situation, tigers do not get a secluded area because they face trouble with the movement of people.
The second major reason being the Alwar-Jaipur road in the middle of the Sariska forest dividing it into two parts. There is a continuous vehicular movement on the road for 24 hours, due to which, tigers or other wild animals are unable to move from one area to another.
At the same time, many animals get killed in road accidents that take place on the highway. The road has been kept open after the protest from the local MLA and the people with heavy vehicles diverted on the Kushalgarh to Narayanpur road. Meanwhile, plans are also on to build an elevated road passing through the middle of the tiger reserve, however, a final decision has not been taken yet.
In spite of all this, the population of tigers has witnessed an increase in the reserve with ST-13 having fathered 13 cubs. Among those 3 cubs died while the rest are healthy.
Meanwhile, for the tigers to settle well and roam around freely, the villages around the reserve need to be relocated completely. Over 29 villages are located in the reserve area, of which 9 villages need to be relocated on priority.
The Sariska administration is in talks with the villagers to relocate the remaining villages, however, some villagers have expressed their reluctance even after being provided with many facilities by the government.
READ: Rajasthan: Study to assess mental stress among tigers across country
