Poging GOUD - Vrij

Perilous proposal

Down To Earth

|

June 01, 2025

Villages near Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve oppose plans to open yet another ecotourism zone in light of rising attacks by the big cats

- HIMANSHU NITNAWARE

Perilous proposal

ON THE morning of January 9 this year, 56-year-old Bhuvanchand left his house in Uttarakhand's Kyari village to collect fodder for his cattle from the forest. “He would usually return by 2 pm. But that day, there was no sign of him till late evening,” recalls Nirmala Belwal, Bhuvanchand’s wife. So Belwal and her son, Pawan, went to find Bhuvanchand. They saw grass soaked in blood just 3 km inside the forest. Bhuvanchand’s body lay a further 2 km away, mauled to death by a tiger.

This was the first tiger attack in 50 years seen in Kyari, located in the Ramnagar forest division on the fringes of the Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve. That same week, nearby villages Chhoi and Dhela reported similar attacks. Overall, between March 2024 and March 2025, the forest division saw 12 tiger attacks, a senior forest official tells Down To Earth (DTE) on condition of anonymity. “Sensing a tiger or an elephant nearby while collecting grass from the forest has never bothered us. But increasing ecotourism is changing the behaviour of animals adversely,” says Bhagwati Sati, a farmer from Kyari.

MEER VERHALEN VAN Down To Earth

Down To Earth

Down To Earth

Bitter pill

THE WEB SERIES PHARMA EXPOSES HARSH TRUTHS OF THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY, WHERE PROFIT OFTEN BECOMES MORE IMPORTANT THAN HUMAN HEALTH

time to read

3 mins

January 16, 2026

Down To Earth

Down To Earth

CHAOS IN-DEFINITION

The Aravallis are perhaps India's most litigated hill range. More than 4,000 court cases have failed to arrest their destruction. The latest dispute concerns a narrow legal definition of this geological antiquity, much of which has been obliterated by mining and urban sprawl. While the Supreme Court has stayed its own judgement accepting that definition, it must see the underlying reality and help reconcile development and national security with conservation.

time to read

19 mins

January 16, 2026

Down To Earth

Down To Earth

BITS: INDIA

Indore has recorded 16 deaths and more than 1,600 hospitalisations between December 24 and January 6.

time to read

1 min

January 16, 2026

Down To Earth

Down To Earth

GUARANTEE EXPIRES

India's rural employment guarantee law is replaced with a centrally controlled, budget-capped scheme. Is this an attack on the right to work?

time to read

3 mins

January 16, 2026

Down To Earth

Down To Earth

BLOOM OR BANE

Surge of vibrant pink water lilies in Kuttanad, Kerala, provides socio-economic benefits, but the plant's ecological impacts must be understood

time to read

4 mins

January 16, 2026

Down To Earth

Down To Earth

INVISIBLE EMPLOYER

Field and academic evidence shows sharp falls in casual agricultural employment at places where groundwater access declines

time to read

3 mins

January 16, 2026

Down To Earth

Down To Earth

Schemed for erasure

Does the VB-G RAMG Act address structural weaknesses long observed in MGNREGA's implementation?

time to read

10 mins

January 16, 2026

Down To Earth

Down To Earth

School of change

An open school in Panagar, Madhya Pradesh, aims to protect children of tribal settlements from falling into the trap of addiction

time to read

2 mins

January 16, 2026

Down To Earth

Down To Earth

PULSE OF RESILIENCE

As a climate-ready crop, cowpea shows potential for widespread use in India

time to read

3 mins

January 16, 2026

Down To Earth

BITS GLOBAL

Britain recorded its hottest and sunniest year ever in 2025, the country's meteorological office said on January 2.

time to read

1 min

January 16, 2026

Listen

Translate

Share

-
+

Change font size