Odisha’s Debrigarh Sanctuary freed from human settlement

Subject :Environment

Section: Protected Area in news

Context:

Debrigarh, a wildlife sanctuary in Odisha’s Bargarh district, has been made completely free from any human settlement following one of the country’s largest ‘peaceful’ relocations of forest-dwellers.

Details:

In a State where permanent human settlements are common even within wildlife sanctuaries, Debrigarh now stands out as an exception alongside Nalabana Bird Sanctuary in Chilika Lake.
Significance of this relocation:
- Drop in cases of man-animal conflict.
- Inhabitants did not have access to basic facilities such as electricity, healthcare and education.
- It was also a mandate to make critical wildlife sanctuaries inviolable.
- No force was used for relocating villagers from the sanctuary.

Rehabilitation measure adopted are:

During the construction of the Hirakud Dam in 1950s, many families of Rengali, Bhutuli, Kurumkel and Lambipali villages were stranded inside the sanctuary.
359 families – comprising about 800 persons – from Kurumkel, Bhutuli, Rengali and Lambipali villages are relocated.
Each individual eligible family was paid ₹15 lakh compensation.
All 400 families have been provided temporary shelter where they could easily stay for three to four years.
Peripheral development like strengthening of basic hospital facility, solar street lights, strengthening of community house and Anganwadi has been carried out.

About Debrigarh sanctuary:

The Debrigarh wildlife sanctuary is located in the Bargarh district in the Indian state of Odisha, covering a total area of 346.91 km2.
It is situated near the city of Sambalpur’s Hirakud Dam. The Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary is an important location for the conservation of various local wildlife and their habitat.
The sanctuary is bound on the east and north by the huge Hirakud reservoir.
It is home to a wide variety of flora and fauna.
As per the State Forest and Environment department,Debrigarh Sanctuary, which is proposed to be a tiger reserve, has high prey base (46 animals per sq. km).
It boasts of having 82 leopards and one Royal Bengal Tiger, besides wild animals such as Bison, Leopard, Sambar, wild boar, spotted deer, wild dog, porcupine and Nilgai.
The sanctuary is home to more than 40 species of mammals, 234 species of birds, 41 species of reptiles, 12 species of amphibians, 65 species of fishes and 85 species of butterflies.
The sanctuary is flanked by Hirakud Reservoir which is a Ramsar Site and International Bird Area.

Nalbana bird sanctuary:

Nalbana Bird Sanctuary or Nalbana Island is the core area of the Ramsar designated wetlands of Chilika Lake.
It was declared a bird sanctuary under the Wildlife Protection Act in 1972.
In the heart of the park, one can see thousands of birds descending during the migratory season.
The island disappears during monsoon season due to inundation only to emerge again in post-monsoon.
Nalbana means a weed covered island In the Odia language.
The island gets completely submerged during the monsoon season. As the monsoon recedes in the winter, lake levels decrease and the island is gradually exposed, birds flock to the island in large numbers to feed on its extensive mudflats.

Nalbana was notified in 1987 and declared a bird sanctuary in 1973 under the Wildlife Protection Act.