Palamu Tiger Reserve: Adivasi residents of village in core sanctuary area to be relocated

“Look how beautiful our village is,” says Dhanu Lohara as we arrive in Jaigir, deep in the sal forests of Palamu Tiger Reserve in Jharkhand. The 56-year-old, dressed in a coloured T-shirt and dhoti soaked in sweat from the long uphill walk, is visibly tired but no less excited to be back.

The village sits among green hills, quiet and scattered. A few mud houses still stand, while others lie broken or levelled by construction and demolition machines. Some village residents are still around, but many have already left, taking their livestock and belongings down the narrow forest trail.

The village lies in the Garu block of the Latehar district in Jharkhand. To reach this village is not an easy task; the people must trek 15 km, climbing uphill for three hours, passing trails through dense forests home to wild animals, before reaching this village.

For generations, the wild and humans have coexisted in Jaigir, but now the residents are being relocated to a new place as the forest department is trying to remove human habitation from the core areas so that wildlife can thrive.

Palamu Tiger Reserve is home to keystone species, including mammals, birds, medicinal herbs, and more. “Keeping this zone free of settlements is essential if we...

Read more