Big, beautiful, mystical and spiritual . These words come to mind when I think of Bandhavgarh . It is really so. One needs to explore and experience it.
I visit Bandhavgarh regularly every year for four-five days. This is continuing since 1992. However the face of today's Bandahavgarh is totally changed. It is now full of tourist resorts around Tala gate. Far way back in 1992 the only tourist resort that used to be was the hunting lodge of Maharaja of Rewa near the Tala gate run and managed by a gentleman from Nepal. The other and perhaps the first one was coming up just outside the southern boundary of Tala zone . It was the venture of Mr. Sankhla , the famous expert on tigers. Now there are many, at least thirty of them . But the tourist traffic has also increased in a similar fashion.
Bandhavgarh is located in Umaria district of Madhya Pradesh , India . The nearest airport is Jabalpur ( 255 kms) . There are train connections to Delhi from Katni and Umaria railway stations.
The place owes its name to the ancient, said to be two thousand years old , fort sitting on the hill top in the Tala zone. There are many caves in the vicinity. An ancient temple is also there . But the old Pujari who used to take care of the temple is no more now. He died three years ago. It is also said that Kabir, the famous mystic poet saint of India, had lived here for sometime . His followers known as "Kabirpanthis" have their" Ashram " near the Tala gate. They congregate there every year in the month of January and visit the cave inside the park where Kabir is said to have lived in the past.
Bandhavgarh achieved the status of national park in the year 1968. Traditionally it has been a tiger land. The first albino or white tiger was caught here only in the year 1951. This erstwhile hunting ground of Rewa royals is now a world famous protected home of Indian tigers spread over an area of about 695 square kilometers. Besides tigers it houses a rich flora and fauna ; about 38 species of mammals , 250 species of birds including the highly endangered species of Vultures and many plants and flowers which so far have not been found or seen anywhere else like the Yellow Butea Monosperma (Palash) , the Yellow Silk Cotton Flower and the most beautiful and rare Papad Flower tree.
Birders who want to photograph magnificent raptors like Crested Serpent Eagles and White Eyed Buzzards or colorful Indian Rollers , Pittas and Peacocks may find Bandhavgarh a very suitable place for photography.
I usually visit this place in the last week of March / the first week of April because that is the time when Bandhavgarh happens to be at the zenith of its natural beauty and grandeur. The roadsides leading to Tala gate and also inside the Tala gate you will find Butea Monosperma (Palash) trees, on the left hand side, laden with brilliant vermillion flowers while on the right hand side Shorea Robusta trees (Sal ) decked with soft green new leaves and pale white color tiny scented flowers. Stop there for a minute , inhale the fragrance of Sal flowers, glance and try to internalize the natural beauty surrounding you and I am sure you will feel mesmerized.
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Despite of many good things Bandhavgarh, like any other place , has its own problems. The first is of Leadership and quality of management. The park has seen 3 Park Directors in the last four years. This quick turnover now reflects the way wildlife and tourism are being managed here nowadays. However I do not hold the incumbents 100% responsible for this because traditionally they lack knowledge and skills needed for good wildlife and tourism management. The incumbents , by their training and orientation , are largely foresters; good at forestry but poor at wildlife and tourism management . The Government must realize that the Forestry and wildlife and tourism management are not one and the same thing . They are two different subjects needing separate set of skills for each. It will be good if the Government starts imparting them knowledge and skills for tourism and wildlife management.
The second issue pertains to the poaching of tigers which unfortunately continues unabated. Every year 2-3 tigers are poached from this park. Some of the famous Bandhavgarh tigers like Sita, BT-2 and B-3 have fallen prey to poachers. The BT-2 , a radio-collared tigress , was poached last year from the Khitauli zone. This year a nine months old male cub of Banbehi tigress was snared and killed in the last week of March at a farm house located close to the park's buffer area. Some of the tigers are missing like the Mahaman female who had 3 sub-adult cubs. Till last year she was seen in the Magdi zone . But she has not been sighted so far anywhere this season. Park authorities give a standard reply that she has moved to some buffer zone. But to which buffer zone ? They do not know about it. Locals say that she had gone to China !
Having failed to check poaching , the park authorities now have adopted a silent but noticeable kind of anti- tourist attitude. This reflects squarely from their actions like sending beat guards for patrolling on tourist - open routes very early in the morning which incidentally happens to be the time for tiger's morning stroll and when tiger can be seen walking on the jungle path. But this stupid practice makes the tiger leave the path and enter into woods. As a matter of fact there is no need for such patrols at least on the jungle routes which are open to tourist traffic. Park authorities should do patrolling in the areas which are closed to tourist entry. They must understand that tourists come to Bandhavgarh with fond hopes to see the tiger and in return contribute a sizable amount of money to government exchequer. Wildlife Parks in India will really need more money now than before when the budget allocation for forestry in the recent union budget stands slashed by 17%.
Another foolish trend is to close the spots where tiger sightings are frequent. My dear Park Authorities this is no tiger conservation .Treat tourists as your another set of ears and eyes. Please understand that tiger will remain safe so long it is seen by the tourists and not the other way round.
Bandhavgarh Park authorities will do good if instead of restraining the tourists, they concentrate on building up a sound intelligence system in and around park periphery areas. They must also undertake frequent inspection rounds in the buffer zone areas sanitizing them from snares , jaw traps and other killing devices used by poachers. If done so the recent poaching incident where a 9 months old male cubs was snared and killed in the month of March at a farm house close to the buffer zone could have been prevented and similarly poachers would have not succeeded electrocuting the tigress BT-2 in Khitauli zone last year.
My another complaint against Bandhavgarh National Park authorities including its leadership , the park Field Director , is against the prevailing corruption and neglect of duties on the part of park personnel. . Since I am a regular visitor to the park and notice the changes minutely and compare them on pre -post basis, this time in 2017 , I found that the upkeep and maintenance of the rest room located at the Centre Point is horrible. That is the only place where tourists of Magdi Zone go for their tea and loo breaks. But the rest room there is terribly dirty and its beyond words to describe its filth. That is a great inconvenience to the visitors especially the ladies who unlike men can not walk off to some secluded place and relieve in open. That is despite of the Park charging a decent amount of money from all visitors as entry fee. I came to know that while Park shows a huge sum spend on rest room's upkeep and maintenance , no such work is carried out in actual. Thus the entire expense sum is appropriated amongst the park authorities. What a corruption !
A proactive attitude will do good rather than working in a reactionary mode and wasting time at guarding tigers from tourist eyes. Keeping the Park friendly to tourists and maintaining its facilities will go a long way in upholding the glory of India and Bandhavgarh.
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