Rubon Saproo
Established in 1995 in the serene environs of Maha Maya hills, the Raika Environment Park on the Narwal-Sidhra bypass road is battling for eco-friendly development to preserve the precious gene pool of flora and fauna of the picturesque Shivalik hills. The horrible condition of the park presently indicates that least attention has been paid towards the beautification and conservation of this biodiversity park, however the sad tale is the environment damage for last one decade of government neglect and apathy is irreversible. The poorly maintained state-owned park not only presents a sorry picture of the successive governments’ policies to safe guard the rich biodiversity of the sub-tropical Jammu but also reflects their callous attitude to make Jammu as an attractive tourist destination for regional, interstate and global tourism.
Set up in the scenic stretch of Raika-Banali beat of compartment number 66 of the Bhau forest range of forest division Jammu, the environment park covers an area of 260 hectares, of which 127 hectares were initially acquired by the environment department for developing a comprehensive network of biodiversity conservation and necessary facilities for visitors. But, unfortunately only 10 hectares of park land had been developed by the authorities for last 10 years. Such sort of slow development linked with poor infrastructure is a stark example of ignoring this fine natural asset, which is not only regrettable but also a disservice to the state. The park which was created with much fanfare lacks basic amenities like water, power, cleanliness, sewerage, telephone, pathways and fire fighting equipments. The ghastly look of the park signifies that it has been largely ignored in all sorts of improvement projects, programs and schemes besides habitat development funds.
The Jammu Shivaliks are home to more than 150 species of trees, 500 shrub species, innumerable number of herbaceous element in association with a host of organisms, over 50 species of wild animals and go species of birds. The park landscape is a part of the Shivalik hills and is very rich in diversity of flora and fauna .It is enclosed from three sides by perpetual ridges carpeted with mixed forests along with ever green trees, semi-evergreen and scrub jungle. The ground is covered with a number of grasses, bushes, herbs and shrubs besides dominated plantation of Dalbargia (Tali). The park also nurtures wildlife like monkeys, porcupine, foxes, rabbit, field rats, lizards, mongoose, snakes, chakor, peacock and wild pig. Many kinds of birds, butterflies, damsels and dragonflies can also be spotted. Further, it has been learnt that a leopard has been spotted in the park on many occasions. Moreover, the interesting thing in the park is to watch two groups of monkeys- native and outsider. The outsider is one who has been brought here last year from Panjterthi area. Both, the groups are living separately and have their own movement zones.
Even though a detailed study of flora and fauna in the park area is lacking, yet from a botanist’s perspective, the environment park is home to many interesting and academically important species. The park boasts astounding varieties of trees like Acacia Nilotica ( Kikar), Aegle Marmelos ( Be’l), Azadirachta Indica (Neem), Bombax Ceiba ( Semal), Cassia Fistula (Amaltas), Dalbergia Sissoo (Shisham), Emblic Officinalis ( Amla),Ficus Religiosa (Peepal), Glochidion Velutina (Chamari), Kydia Calycine (Pulu), Mangifera Indica (Mango), Morus Alba ( Mulberry), Pinus Roxburghi ( Chir Pine), Wendlandia Exerta (Pansar), Xylosma Longifolium ( Katari) etc. It also houses some shrubs including Abrus Precatorius (Rati), Arundo Donax (Nal), Bougain Villea (Blungar), Jasminum Officinale (White Jasmine), Loranthus Cordifolius (Banda), Punica Granatum (Anar), Rosa Macroprylla ( Wild Rose) and Rubus Ellipticus (Anchu). In addition, the climbers found in the park are Clematis Gravedlens, Cuscuta Reflex, Holostemma Rheedianum,Ipomoea Muricata, Ipomoea Hispiuda and Porana Paniculata. Some important medicinal plants are also found in the park.
In terms of facilities and infrastructure, the park paints a grim picture of development and maintenance. The roads including inspection and trekking paths constructed in 10 hectares of park land are deteriorating rapidly. The environment museum, green house, interpretation library and children park are also in miserable condition. Public washroom, drinking water facility and sitting arrangements are almost insufficient. In addition, the park lacks some other basic amenities like canteen, guidance and research centre, medical aid post and security for visitors. The place is out of bounds for the visitors after the sun sets as there are no lightposts in the park. Another woeful factor is the rundown condition of park fencing on the road side due to which there is a biotic interference of people from the nearby villages. The reception counter, which is the most important because this is where the visitor approaches and requires information, is not of modern style and design. Further, there are various spots in the park which gives it a distinct and raw feel.
Besides it, the park faces acute shortage of water supply necessary to ensure survival of plants and animals. The park gets water only by PHE pipeline which is not sufficient to cater the required need during the peak summer season when the wild animals move down to quench their thirst. Infact, a water reserviour, some water harvesting tanks besides check dams over a nalluha have been built to harvest runoff water from the park catchment area but that too proved to be inadequate. There was a proposal to construct a bore well in the park to hold water in ponds and holes for a long time. However, the proposal could not be given a final shape till date due to reasons best known by the concerned authorities regardless of knowing that there is a dire need of water throughout the year to maintain the ecology of the park. Moreover, on record it is stated that the environment park catches fire almost every year and destroys large stretches of vegetation. In order to prevent the fire occurrence no steps have been taken so far in spite of a plan to create fire line around the park and to engage few watchers to avoid such kind of eventuality. Thus, the summary of the park not only presents the gross story of nature’s devastation but also governments’ failure to safeguard the ecology of Jammu forests.
In a bid to make it attractive for visitors, it is imperative to pay attention towards some sectors of the park which includes construction of watch towers for maintaining vigil on intruders and poachers, displaying models of animals and birds to draw attention of tourists, creation of picnic spots and children’s corner, making selective feeding places for the birds and animals and plantation of rare species of trees including decorative and medicinal. Also, people would be allowed to enjoy the ambience by trekking through interior paths. This will provide great opportunity for people to learn about reviving nature. But what is most important is to save the biodiversity of the park which definitely needs funding and planning with ecological sustainability.
Of the issues plaguing the administration, shortage of staff and funding are the most significant. Today, the department of Ecology, Environment and Remote Sensing had only strength of 100 employees including gazetted, non-gazetted and class IV to provide services. The official adds, “Yes, we know it is very important to preserve Raika Environment Park. And it needs money and manpower and we are short of both. We are receiving budget which hardly fulfils the need of our employees and under these circumstances it is not possible for us to develop and maintain the park. This department has been rendered as resting and dumping place and what can you expect from it.” “Currently, we need services of at least ten employees in the park and we have only four. So, what can we do? We also need night staff in the park as well,” he stated, adding that unless and until expansion of department is not done, nothing good is expected from this department. Elaborating, he stated, “it will be better if our and tourism department work together to upgrade infrastructure in all important parks in the state.”
The Raika Environment Park was established in 1995 when the planning department in 1991 granted approval to the department of Ecology, Environment and Remote Sensing for the development of Environment Park in Maha Maya forests. The idea of setting up the park here was envisaged in view of its easy access from the Jammu city besides nearby national highway so that it can turn into an attractive stop for tourists during their visit to other destinations of the state. Another aspect of creating park was for the local recreational purposes and to boost the regional tourism development. The park gets its name from the nearby Raika village. However, the original name of Raika is Binali. The park is surrounded by forests of Maha Maya, Dharan Nagar, Palpar and Raika village and has been divided into two large sections. It has two main gates-general and emergency. With a minimal entry fee of Rs.10; the park is being visited by 40-50 people each day with mostly students. The park remains closed from sun set to sun rise.
The main objective to construct park at Bhau forests or Maha Maya hills was to explore, promote, preserve and replicate the gene resources of the state. It was aimed to provide environment education, trainings, research, recreation and information about conservation of biodiversity. Like, the environment park will be a learning laboratory for nature education to all sections like general public, government officials and others. Several training programmes will be organised in the park as part of environmental education. The park will provide complete information on the physical and biological resources of Shivaliks and sub tropical biodiversity of the region. The park has 200 hectares of protected forest attached to it, which will serve as research laboratory for forestry, social forestry, soil conservation and pollution control. Special research will be carried on the indigenous flora particularly the extinct, endangered and threatened species. The environment park will provide recreation to the people of Jammu and pilgrim tourists of Mata Vaishno Devi, Budda Amarnath Yatries, Shiv Khori etc. An area of 20 hectares will be set apart for development of biodiversity park. This will form a natural serve for field learning. This will also contain the entire Shivalik flora along with associated faunal component. However, it is important to mention here that not a single objective was achieved till date.
While all instruments of promotion have to be put to use, particular emphasis must be given on eco-friendly developments with proper planning in the park to serve its primary purpose-preservation of species or education to the public. The environment park is nothing less than a visionary treat to the visitors. The scenic beauty and landscape will leave you spellbound and give you reasons to capture. But, sadly this attraction is the classic case of neglect and ruin. It is heartening to note that till date no effort has been made to create awareness about this park and even no advertisement for its publicity. This park should have been a prized asset zealously if not ignored in last 10 years. Now, it is high time for the state to wake up from its slumber and take immediate action to save this all important biodiversity park. The government must take steps to restore basic infrastructure to promote it as unique destination in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The park would be a source of revenue which will surely create employment opportunities for people.
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