Purulia: West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari attends a programme organised by the Kurmi community at Karadi
Leopards returned to the Kotshila-Jhalda landscape in recent years, with their presence confirmed through camera traps in 2022. Around 10 sloth bears are estimated to inhabit the wider landscape, according to forest department sources.
We have plans to develop a big zoo in the region, where more leopards will be brought in,” he said. “We will not let anyone touch the nature here. The CM added that the govt also plans to develop tourism infrastructure in the area. What sets the proposal for the sanctuary apart is its emphasis on human-wildlife coexistence. Unlike several protected-area models where villages may have to be relocated, the Purulia sanctuary plan envisages keeping existing settlements within the landscape while making local communities partners in conservation. The proposal comes against the backdrop of a revival of wildlife in the forest belt. There are around six adult leopards in the area now, foresters estimate. The forest is also an established elephant corridor and has records of sloth bears, honey badgers, pangolins, hyenas, barking deer, porcupines and wild boar. Signs indicating the movement of tigers have also been recorded, making the forest belt an important link with the adjoining Jharkhand landscape.
The sanctuary featured in CM Suvendu Adhikari’s Purulia address on Sunday as he assured that the region’s natural landscape, including its hills and forests would not be disturbed.
The 188.3-hectare medicinal-plant-rich tract in Kalma beat is another important component of the proposed plan.
Habitat protection, fire and access control, water and soil conservation and regular wildlife monitoring will form part of the management plan, according to the proposal. Residents of Simni said the sanctuary could bring recognition to the area’s forests while creating new avenues of livelihood. Fifteen joint forest management committees are expected to play a key role. A dedicated research and monitoring zone has also been proposed, with permanent vegetation plots, camera traps and climate-monitoring systems.