The Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSIhas taken up several initiatives in collaboration with government institutes to provide alternative livelihood to the residents of Bali Island in Sunderbans in West Bengal to reduce man-tiger conflict.
WPSI is working with Central Institute of Freshwater Agriculture (CIFA) and Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (CIFRI) that are leading institutes under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) in this regard.
According to a research paper titled Wildlife Man Struggle in West Bengal - A Serious Social Issue, more than 150 incidents of tigers straying into villages in Sunderbans have taken place.
The residents of Bali Island are being provided with facilities and equipments for fish breeding, hatcheries and poultry products so that they venture less into the forest.
The CIFA has distributed nets; fish seed, fertilizers as well as saplings of cauliflower and cabbage to the people of Bali Island to enable them earn their livelihood through agriculture and fishery. Measures are also being taken to provide the islanders with basic veterinary training so as to enable them to prevent the spread of disease in livestock.
“We are receiving good response from the people. People are also entering the forests in lesser numbers,” Honorary WPSI State Director Colonel (Retd) Shakti Ranjan Banerjee told The Hindu on Thursday.
The canals and ponds of Bali Island are also being utilised as a source of alternative income for the residents. Principal Field Director of WPSI in Bali, Anil Krishna Mistry, said that most of the families in the island own a pond which is being utilised for cultivating fresh water fish.
The CIFRI, in collaboration with WPSI, has introduced several species of fish in the Kali, Mathabhangi, Chire Khawa and Harintana canal in Bali Island as well as in some ponds in the area.
It has also provided the Bali Nature and Wildlife Conservation Society, the local unit of WPSI, with fish feed and medicines.
