Dachigam bans vehicles to save hanguls

Azhar Qadri

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, May 13

The region’s Wildlife Department has shut the doors of the Dachigam National Park to vehicles and grazers as a part of an effort to protect the last habitat of hanguls, a critically endangered species of stag found only in the park.

The measures are aimed to stop disturbances to hanguls' habitat inside the 144 sq km Dachigam National Park, located on outskirts of the city here. Hanguls, whose number has dwindled from several thousand in early 1900s to 200-odd in the latest surveys, is the state animal of Jammu and Kashmir.

Regional Wildlife Warden Chatubuj Behra has directed the staff to earmark a parking area outside the gate and stop all private vehicles from entering the park. The department has warned the staff of penalty if the instructions are not implemented.

Behra said disturbances in form of vehicles entering the park and grazers moving their herds to upper reaches of Dachigam have adversely impacted the life-cycle of hanguls in recent decades. “No private vehicle will be allowed inside. The government vehicles which are for official duty will be permitted but no escorting vehicles will be allowed,” Behra told The Tribune.

Behra said the hangul population is in a “scary position” and their fawns are facing abortion “due to disturbances”. Behra said that according to the latest survey the hangul population was around 200.

The staff has also been directed to constitute teams to stop the grazers – both local and migratory – from entering the park.

The grazers began bringing their herds in increasing numbers to Dachigam at the onset of militancy in the region as other pastures became out of bounds due to security reasons. The trend has continued over past two decades and intensely disturbed the habitat of hangul.

To implement the ban, the staff has been directed to increase vigil at the potential entry points of grazers at Pahlipora, Sangri and Tral. Tahir Shawl, Wildlife Warden, Central Division, and in charge of Dachigam National Park, said the restriction on the entry of all private vehicles, including those belonging to employees of sheep breeding farm, fish breeding farm and other government departments, would certainly bring good results for hangul. Saying the sheep breeding farm inside the park was a major source of disturbance, officials have demanded its relocation. Minister of State for Forest and Sheep Husbandry Zahoor Mir also raised the issue at a meeting earlier this week.

Shawl, a strong advocate of hangul conservation, said the feedback received from the field staff in recent weeks suggested increased frequency of sightings of the critically endangered species in the lower areas of the hills.