The Simha Mitra Awards 2002
Samrakshan has instituted the Simha Mitra (Friends of Lions) awards
to honour individuals who have made a significant contribution towards
furthering the objectives of the lion reintroduction programme in
Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary. Forest department staff serving in the
sanctuary, as well as members of the local community are eligible
for these awards. This is the first year of this initiative, and
Samrakshan hopes to make this a bi-annual event. The Simha Mitra
awards for the year 2002 are being sponsored by the US-based Barbara
Delano Foundation.
This year, five members of the frontline staff of
Kuno (Range officer and below) are being presented the Simha Mitra
award. Each award carries a cash prize of Rs.15,000 and a plaque.
The awardees were chosen by a committee set up by the officer in-charge
of Kuno sanctuary on the basis of various performance indicators.
In this year's awards, there is also a provision for recognizing
the contribution of local communities living in and around the sanctuary.
Inhabitants of the 24 villages inside the sanctuary have made the
supreme sacrifice of giving up their home and hearth in the interest
of this project. Samrakshan would like to honour them for this by
making available a sum of Rs.50,000 for the construction of a community
centre near village Palpur. In addition to the above mentioned categories
of awards, this year we also have a special award for an individual
who has contributed tremendously to the rehabilitation effort, the
doctor of the Agraa PHC, Dr. Lalaram Shaky.
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The Awardees
Shri Gaya Lal Dhakad, Forest Guard
Shri Gaya Lal Dhakad's mandate has been to help with the rehabilitation
of villages and he has fulfilled this with remarkable diligence.
Forever ready to lend a helping hand, Shri Dhakad can be seen tirelessly
supervising the construction of civil engineering works at the rehabilitation
site, and carrying out with complete dependability all other tasks
entrusted to him.
Shri Ram Krishna Narwaria, Forest Guard
Shri Narwaria too has been assigned to carry out various rehabilitation
services that are to be delivered to the villages being moved out
of Kuno sanctuary. His in-depth knowledge of the villages assigned
to him, and his tremendous rapport with the community has made him
indispensable to the team that is carrying out the rehabilitation
of villages.
Shri Sushil Kumar Parashar, Forest Guard
Unlike our last two awardees, Shri Parashar is posted inside the
Kuno sanctuary and is responsible for protecting the sanctuary from
various sources of pressure. In his tenure with the Kuno sanctuary,
Shri Parashar has made his presence felt because of his great zeal
and unflagging diligence in carrying out his duty of protecting
this forest.
Late Shri Ram Lal Kushwaha, Range Forest
Officer
Range Officer Kushwaha is unfortunately no longer with us. He passed
away suddenly in December 2001, leaving all those who knew him shocked
and in sorrow. Late Shri Kushwaha was greatly liked by all his colleagues
for his pleasant and helpful nature. Shri Kushwaha was entrusted
with the charge of coordinating protection measures inside the sanctuary
and the sanctuary and its denizens greatly benefited from his diligent
work ethic.
Shri Rajeev Kaushal, Range Forest Officer
What Shri Kushwaha was to the sanctuary, Shri Kaushal has been to
the rehabilitation site. Entrusted with the coordination of rehabilitation
activities, Shri Kaushal's presence has lent much needed momentum
to the rehabilitation effort. His flair for innovation has been
invaluable in leading a fairly inexperienced team in a task as delicate
as village rehabilitation, with a significant measure of success.
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The Special Appreciation Award 2002
Dr. Lalaram Shakya, MBBS
Dr. Shakya has been with the Agraa PHC since the year 2000, and
his presence has made a tremendous difference to the quality of
health facilities available to the relocated villages. His unflagging
zeal and dedication, and his round-the-clock presence in the field
has increased the outreach of health facilities among the villages
in a big way. He has also initiated a number of special health drives
like family planning, eye-care and immunization through his own
efforts, and much beyond the normal call of duty.
The Community Award
In recognition of the great sacrifice made by the 24 villages that
lived inside the Kuno sanctuary, Samrakshan has pledged to contribute
a sum of Rs.50,000 to the 'Visthapit Gram Vikas Samiti', a forum
of the relocated villages that has been formed by the community
to oversee the development of the area. The maiden venture taken
up by this samiti is the construction of a community centre near
village Palpur, at the venue of the annual Parvati mela. The centre
would be constructed partly through labour contribution by each
relocated village, and partly through Samrakshan's grant.
Anti-Poaching Kits
In addition to the Simha Mitra awards, Samrakshan is also
equipping the entire frontline staff of Kuno with anti-poaching
kits. These kits are meant to ameliorate the trying conditions under
which the frontline staff members carry out their duties. The frontline
field personnel are responsible for implementing management prescriptions,
including patrolling and other protection work. We believe that
adequate gear for them to discharge their duties would help to bring
about an improvement in the general efficiency of the staff, particularly
in areas like patrolling.
Each kit consists of seven items, namely cap, winter jacket, backpack,
sleeping bag, 3-cell brass torch with leak proof batteries, ground
sheet, and water bottle with cover.
Most wild habitats in India today are precariously poised. These
habitats, apart from supporting wild flora and fauna, are also biodiversity
supermarkets for communities living in their proximity. Changing
lifestyles and infiltration by market forces have led to rapid depletion
of this natural resource base. This has adversely impacted wildlife
as well as local communities, both of which are heavily dependent
on forest resources for survival. At Samrakshan, we believe that
work with communities living on the periphery of protected areas
(national parks and sanctuaries) is imperative to address both conservation
priorities as well as the livelihoods needs of these communities.
Samrakshan therefore attempts to forge meaningful alliances between
the state, local communities, and other agencies concerned with
environment conservation, in order to further the goals of biodiversity
conservation and livelihood security of forest-dependent people.
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