Gopalpur's biodiversitypark faces a growing human-nature conflict

Just a few kilometres from Midnapore town, in the sunburnt lateritic heartland of Murakata, stands a park that was once hailed as a beacon of ecological revival.

- BISWABRATA GOSWAMI

The Gopalpur Biodiversity Park-spread over 23 acres of sal, teak and mahua groves-is supposed to be a sanctuary for threatened species and a learning ground for the next generation.

Yet today, its high fences and resort gates tell another story-one where conservation and community are uneasily at odds. Established by the West Bengal Biodiversity Board, under the Government of West Bengal, Gopalpur is one among 13 biodiversity parks across the state. Developed initially in 2015-16 with financial support from the Junglemahal Action Package (JAP) fund of the Midnapore Sadar Block, the park received a new lease of life in 2022 through the department of environment.

The facelift was ambitious: Reforestation drives, walking trails, interpretive signage, and plans for an "Abhaya Pond" to host hundreds of endangered freshwater fish species-once common across Bengal's wetlands but now vanishing.

When Dr Himadri Sekhar Debnath, chairman of the West Bengal Biodiversity Board, visited the site after its renovation, he envisioned Gopalpur as a future hub of environmental education and recreation-a "living museum" that would protect biodiversity while inspiring the public to care for it.

But on the ground, a different narrative has taken root.