Pilgrimage and plunder

Bhimashankar is presently being studied by a group of ornithologists and environmentalists. The Ecological Society of Pune founded by environmentalist andornithologist Prakash Gole, with former Vice-Admiral M.P.Awati as the chairman, has been conducting a survey here for the past two years. They are investigating the damage done to this ecological plateau over the last two decades because of tourism and the callous attitude of the locals who are anything but sentimental about their rich treasure.

Bhimashankar had been declared as a sanctuary since 1985, which should have logically halted further deterioration. But such a classification seems to have come a bit late 8212; most of the tall primary trees have already disappeared.

Leading ornithologist, Dr Prakash Gole, who had worked with Dr Salim Ali, believes that this picturesque region has at least 150 species of resident and migratory birds. Several plant species here, a couple of which are unique to this land, have still not been identified. According to Gole, 8220;It is doubtful if forests left to the local population adivasis can be protected. There is no alternative to scientific management offorests.8221;According to the study conducted by the Ecological Society, about 12,000 trees are felled every year here, with 10,000 tonnes of wood required annually for local use and commercial use. What has increased demand for wood is the sudden increase in the pilgrim population thanks largely to the construction of an all-weather road right up to the precincts of the Shiva temple. About 10 lakh pilgrims visit annually 8212; one and a half times the number that throngs picturesque Mahabaleshwar.

Enterprising tourists have discovered Bhimashankar as an ideal holiday resort, adding to its woes. Its climate is similar to Mahabaleshwar but it is tourist-friendly all through the year, including the monsoons, unlike Mahabaleshwar. According to experts, any gains from scientific forestry are likely to be neutralised by this exceptionally heavy inflow of tourists.With an average annual rainfall of 200-250 cm, Bhimashankar in the past must have had evergreen forest. Today, barely 10 to 12 ha of evergreen forestremainthat too, only because green patches in the vicinity of temples are preserved as devrais or sacred groves. Bhimashankar has a sprawling devarai in its backyard, which incidentally is the last refuge for rare species of flora and fauna. One rarely comes across a tall tree with a trunk circumference of more than 90 cm. Circumferences of most trees range from 45 cm to 75 cm, indicating that these are younger trees that have grown after the original trees were felled.

Tree species are changing. The anjan memecyclon, which can be spotted everywhere, occupy the space created by the felling of the original trees like the mango, jambhul or parjambhul olea dioica. Says Gole, 8220;As a result of centuries of careless exploitation of forests by the local people coupled with overgrazing, primary forest patches have converted into secondary forests. The area under shrub is growing at an alarming rate.8221;Apart from the tradition of the sacred grove, the Society did not find any tradition or practice among thelocal population at Bhimashankar that would preserve the forest. The mango and the hirda were preserved for commercial reasons, but other species were felled indiscriminately. What8217;s more, overgrazing has affected the better species of grasses, which has disturbed the pollination process and retarded the growth of trees.

The Society found that the resident population in the sanctuary area deprives the forest of nearly 2,000 tonnes of firewood every year which itself is higher than the natural replenishment of the forest. To aggravate things, an additional 8,000 tonnes of firewood is chopped to sustained an estimated million visitors. For instance, during the recent Mahashivratri fair, when an estimated 1.5 lakh pilgrims flocked Bhimashankar, about 5,000 tonnes of timber is estimated to have been consumed as firewood.

Things are only going to get worse. Developers have cast their eyes on the scenic spots here for the resorts of the future, even though this would mean transgressing the law that forbids thealienation of adivasi land.Rene Borges and Ulhas Rane, scientists from the Bombay Natural History Society BNHS, estimate that in 1991 Bhimashankar was visited by about 25,000 persons during the April-May season. The Ecological Society in its study in 1998 found that even in the off-season month of January, 2,000 to 2,500 persons visited Bhimashankar everyday 8212; that is, 60,000 to 75,000 persons in one off-season month.

The result of all this is already clear. With the vanishing forests, rare species of trees, mammals and birds for which Bhimashankar was known, are becoming extinct. A sub-species of ficus locally called loth, noticed so far only on the Bhimashankar plateau, has not even been scientifically indexed. It may become an extinct before that happens! The Fairy Blue Bird, one of the rare species of the Western Ghatss, used to be common at Bhimashankar. It is believed to be extinct from the plateau now. Shama, yet another tree bird known for its sweet melodious call, has also almost disappeared.The Forest Eagle Owl, yet another rare bird, which once could be heard here, seems to have disappeared. But the greatest threat is to the Indian Giant Squirrel, one of the rare species of this region.

The squirrel leaps 20 feet from one tree to another and is rather shy of humans. All that you can witness, when you stroll through the pathways, are its luxurious nests, perched atop the trees. The evergreen and semi-evergreen patches near the Shiva temple have been the traditional abode of this species. It does not have a safe sanctuary now and nowhere else to go. Aggravating the matter is the recent plastic invasion. Heaps of plastic bags discarded by pilgrims and tourists are strewn around the forest periphery.

Fortunately, a variety of mammal species still abound in the region, particularly the deer, the boar and the leopard. Gole says that he spotted a full-sized striped tiger in the forests in the vicinity of the temple on February 2. The office of the state-level office of the Zoological Survey ofIndia in Pune confirmed that the scat collected by Gole and sent for examination is that of the striped tiger.

This has shattered the decades-old belief that the species has become extinct from the Maharashtra area of the Western Ghats. Its sighting at Bhimashankar has necessitated a review and the Regional Deputy Conservator of Forests Wildlife N.H.N. Shaikh has acknowledged this.

But this merely highlights the paradox that is Bhimashankar. On the one hand, it still holds out the promise of being one of the last bastions of rare species of flora and fauna in western India. On the other, it seems destined to total destruction.