Sacred groves of Mundas in Similipal intact: Officer | Bhubaneswar News
Bhubaneswar: Sacred groves belonging to the Munda tribe are intact in Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR), wildlife authorities confirmed on Tuesday while refuting allegations of the Munda community that they were destroyed to make way for an enclosure for tigress Zeenat.
The enclosure was built at Jamunagarh village, which the people voluntarily vacated in 2018 and 2020 in phases to ensure inviolate space in the core area. The wildlife wing’s clarification came after it allegedly denied the tribe’s request for access to their traditional worship site on grounds of maintaining inviolate space.
“We constructed the enclosure for Zeenat at Jamunagarh, but their worship place (groves) has not been harmed. It is a patch of forest, which according to their belief, is their place of worship. For ages, they maintained the tradition. But after they were relocated following their consent legally, they can’t access the core area. More so, now the tigress is housed there, and it is not possible to allow people other than the authorised ones,” said field director, Similipal Tiger Reserve, Prakash Gogineni.
The Munda community was provided with compensation and alternative accommodation after their relocation, official sources said. The wildlife wing further said they didn’t grant permission as the community organises a religious fair in the forest, which would interfere with the inviolate nature.
Zeenat, brought from Tadoba-Andheri Tiger Reserve, is now lodged in a small enclosure that was set up for tigress Yamuna.
As per NTCA advice, Zeenat will be shifted to a bigger enclosure spanning 20 acres. The authorities will study its behaviour before deciding to release her into the wild.
“We were told that excavators were used to create space for the enclosure, whereby groves have been damaged. Our community members met forest officers. Although, during the shift from Jamunagarh, we also relocated our presiding deity, we have kept visiting the sacred groves,” said Sagar Ho, a Munda member.
The enclosure was built at Jamunagarh village, which the people voluntarily vacated in 2018 and 2020 in phases to ensure inviolate space in the core area. The wildlife wing’s clarification came after it allegedly denied the tribe’s request for access to their traditional worship site on grounds of maintaining inviolate space.
“We constructed the enclosure for Zeenat at Jamunagarh, but their worship place (groves) has not been harmed. It is a patch of forest, which according to their belief, is their place of worship. For ages, they maintained the tradition. But after they were relocated following their consent legally, they can’t access the core area. More so, now the tigress is housed there, and it is not possible to allow people other than the authorised ones,” said field director, Similipal Tiger Reserve, Prakash Gogineni.
The Munda community was provided with compensation and alternative accommodation after their relocation, official sources said. The wildlife wing further said they didn’t grant permission as the community organises a religious fair in the forest, which would interfere with the inviolate nature.
Zeenat, brought from Tadoba-Andheri Tiger Reserve, is now lodged in a small enclosure that was set up for tigress Yamuna.
As per NTCA advice, Zeenat will be shifted to a bigger enclosure spanning 20 acres. The authorities will study its behaviour before deciding to release her into the wild.
“We were told that excavators were used to create space for the enclosure, whereby groves have been damaged. Our community members met forest officers. Although, during the shift from Jamunagarh, we also relocated our presiding deity, we have kept visiting the sacred groves,” said Sagar Ho, a Munda member.
