The NDA, one of the world’s premier military training institutions, registered a formal complaint with the deputy conservator of forests, Pune, on June 27.
The Pune forest department’s apparently thoughtless act of releasing seven crocodiles from the Rajiv Gandhi animal orphanage in Katraj into the Varasgaon backwaters has brought the National Defence Academy’s (NDA) endurance training programme to a standstill for the last few months.
The NDA, one of the world’s premier military training institutions, registered a formal complaint with the deputy conservator of forests, Pune, on June 27.
Following this complaint, the state’s principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) instructed the chief conservator of forests, Pune, on September 20 to remove all crocodiles from the reservoir with immediate effect.
The principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) has asked the Pune conservator of forests to seek guidance from experts from the Crocodile Park in Chennai, the conservator of forests in Kolhapur and officials of the Tadoba National Park to trap the crocodiles from the Khadakwasla reservoir and the Varasgaon backwaters and release them in Chandoli wildlife sanctuary.
Swimming the length of the lake is a critical part of the cadet’s endurance training.
The NDA letter of June 27 states, “Please take all actions necessary to make the lake reptile-free, including catching and relocating the crocodiles, so that cadet training can be resumed at an early date.”
Varasgaon is one of three dams that feeds the Khadakwasla reservoir, which is how the crocodiles have presumably been sighted in there. The Varasgaon backwaters are used for boating, fishing and swimming by villagers.
DNA had reported (December 1 & 21, 2009) how the Pune forest department had controversially released seven crocodiles from the Rajiv Gandhi animal orphanage into the Varasgaon reservoir between May 2008 and October 2009 (three crocodiles on May 5, 2008, three crocodiles on April 29, 2009 and one crocodile on October 12, 2009).
The decision of the forest department had raised the hackles of the state irrigation department, which took offence at the forest department not consulting them in the matter, especially as the water bodies belong to the jurisdiction of the irrigation department.
What peeved the irrigation department officials more was that two of their letters sent to the forest department in late 2009 went unanswered.
Executive engineer of Khadakwasla irrigation division, Shivaji Bolbhat, slammed the forest department’s decision. He told DNA, “The forest department should have discussed the matter with us before acting. They released the crocodiles without consulting us.
Such reptiles cannot be released in an irrigation canal. The reservoir is being used for boating by tourists and for fishing by the villagers. The presence of the crocodiles will pose a danger to people.”
Wildlife expert and director of Pune-based Pugmarks Adventure Group, Aniruddh Chaoji, said the crocodiles should have been released in Tulsi lake inside Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Mumbai as it already has a crocodile population.
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