The Hindu Business Line : `Toughest climb' in an unexplored range

ON an afternoon we started out on the long steep climb in our Gypsy from Dhain village (now resettled) in Bori Sanctuary in Hosangabad district to Pachmarhi Wildlife Sanctuary. Bori sanctuary is deep in the valley closed in by the Satpura mountain range, while the popular Pachmarhi sanctuary is at the top. The kuchha road paved with stones and mud has been cut out from the rocks and the journey takes one up to a height of around 4,000 ft past the still unexplored Satpura range. The distance of about 60 km took us about four hours.

With the winter sun dropping out of the sky early, the run from Bori started in dim light before groping for long in the blinding darkness with vision limited by the headlamps of the Gypsy.

The start was fine as one followed a healthy jackal trotting ahead of us and turning back when the light from the Gypsy hit it. For a moment the jackal stood still, gauged the situation before scampering into the wild. Next came a black-naped hare, which hopped ahead of us at a good pace partly scared of our vehicle.

Kishor Rithe slowed the Gypsy giving time for the hare unable to make up its mind before finally careening into a nearby bush.

The run up from Bori takes one past Kajari and Rorighat villages before making it to Pachmarhi. On the ascent, we lost our way and breathed easy when we spotted the beams from the government jeep following us. K.S. Bhadauria, Assistant Director, Satpura National Park, got out of his vehicle, calmed us before leading the way. That helped a lot.

We took in the mountain ranges, like still dinosaurs in a museum, in the quiet dark capped by a deep blue sky cobbled with stars. "This is one of the toughest climbs in central India," said Kishor Rithe.

Dinesh Kothari and this writer hoped we would make it as there is no help on the mountain path.

Captain J. Forsyth, Acting Conservator of Forests, Central Provinces of India, made the trip on foot in the 1860s.

In his book, The Highlands of Central India (first published in 1871), Captain Forsyth writes, "In the eyes of the Hindu inhabitants of the neighbouring plains, the whole of the range of hills which culminated in the Puchmurree plateau is sacred to their deity Siva, called Mahadeo, or the Great God; and the hills themselves are called by his name, the Mahadeos."

He halted a day at Jhilpa, the last village on the plains, and on the 22nd (the reader is not told of the month or the year) "packed my small tent and a few necessaries on a pony, and with two attendants started up the hill on foot."

Perhaps, Forsyth's book is the best reference book on the area, its flora and fauna apart from its tribal history.

He starts saying, "The Hindus of the plains have several terms for its different sections, calling the most easterly the Mykal, the centre the Mahadeo, and the western the Satpura Hills.

Geographers have applied the name Satpura to the entire range; and the name is, perhaps, as appropriate as any which could be selected." We made it to Pachmarhi sanctuary by 8 p.m. and the temperatures were way below 10 degrees.

At present, the forest department of Madhya Pradesh has stopped tourists and others from driving down or up from Pachmarhi to Bori as a precautionary move. On June 1, 1977, the State Government by notification set up the Pachmarhi Wildlife Sanctuary (654.49 sq. km), the Satpura National Park (524.37 sq. km) and Bori Sanctuary (802.89 sq. km).

One learnt from senior forest officials that the State Wildlife Board of Madhya Pradesh has recently agreed to denotify 1,500 hectares of Pachmarhi, which includes 16 villages and the town. The decision needs to be ratified by the National Wildlife Board of India and even the Supreme Court, as the decision is sure to be challenged.

Pachmarhi has more hotels and tourist lodges and pressure is on from politicians and retired bureaucrats to edit the forests to accommodate commerce.

Wildlife officials are not particularly worried though Pachmarhi area has been notified as a Biosphere Reserve in 1999 and forms one of the 13 biosphere reserves in the country.

The Environmental Planning and Coordination Organisation (EPCO) has been identified as nodal agency on behalf of the State Government for implementation of the Management Action Plan of Pachmarhi BR.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests, New Delhi, has also identified EPCO as Lead/Coordinating Institution of Pachmarhi BR for collection, synthesis and dissemination of research based information.

In 1994, the Maharashtra Government denotified reserve forest of 526.90 sq. km in Melghat Tiger Reserve into a Multiple Use Area, and today a tarred road runs across to provide access to 39 villages. The life of the tribals has not improved, while tigers in the area have disappeared.

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