Bhitarkanika too small for reptiles and people - report of Ashutosh Mishra The Oriya name for the saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) is baula kumbhira, which literally means crazy crocodile. The moniker certainly rings true for people living in about 50 villages around Bhitarkanika National Park in Orissa's Kendrapara district. Home to the largest concentration of saltwater crocodiles in the country, the reserve is rife with human-crocodile conflict. If people living around Bhitarkanika are to be believed, at least 50 lives have been lost in crocodile attacks in the past 10 years. Cattle too have fallen prey to the reptile whose predatory instincts become particularly sharp during the breeding and mating season: February to June. Park officials, however, have a different story. They say the death toll quoted by the local people is highly exaggerated. For example, Sudhakar Kar, who has been associated with the saltwater crocodile rearing and conservation programme in Bhitarkanika since its inception in 1975, contests local claims. "Crocodiles, unlike tigers don't chase people. It is only when people enter their habitat that attacks occur." Why must people disturb the crocodile habitat?" he asks. Kar claims most deaths are accidental. "Deaths are not reported every year and it is never more than one or two in a year. People here have a tendency to exaggerate," he adds. According to official figures, 14 people were killed by crocodiles in Bhitarkanika between 1996-97 and 2002-2003. The reptiles also claimed 31 cattleheads during the period. However, residents of Dangmal panchayat, who have borne the brunt of the attacks, say these figures are not only misleading but they also don't take recent casualties into account. Hemant Panigrahy, a field assistant working at the Dangmal crocodile research centre at the Bhitarkanika National Park, admits stray attacks do happen. Last year, a person was killed at Ajgarpatia village while another sustained injuries in Dangmal village. Twenty-three-year-old Nakul Dalei of Dangmal is still nursing the wounds he suffered in a crocodile attack about six months ago. Pointing to his bandaged legs, he told this reporter, "I had been to a nullah near our village along with friends to fish when the animal attacked me. Though the sight of the beast made me panic, I managed to free myself from its grip with the help of friends." The 672-sq km Bhitarkanika wildlife sanctuary, which came into existence in April 1975, has around 407 villages within its limits. But these villages fall outside the periphery of the 145-sq km national park, which forms the sanctuary's core area. "The actual habitat of the saltwater crocodiles is the national park which was notified in 1998. This forms the core of the sanctuary and is expected to be completely free of human interference," says Kar. Activities like fishing and collection of firewood are banned within the sanctuary but the authorities have been implementing the ban only in the park area. "We are not rigid about rules, because people occasionally stray into forests and creeks. However, regular violations cannot be tolerated," says an official. The local people, however, contest such claims. "Ever since the sanctuary came into being we are neither allowed to fish in the creeks nor collect firewood from the forests. We cannot even collect mangrove leaves which we need badly for thatching our houses," says Bishnu Charan Raj of Nuagaon village. In 1986, people living around the park came together to form the Bhitarkanika Bikas Sangram Samiti to protect their livelihood rights. Niranjan Nayak, one of the convenors of the samiti, says its members staged dharnas and demonstrations to draw the attention of authorities to their problems, but they were repeatedly stonewalled. "The attitude of the authorities has frustrated us no end. Today, the samiti has virtually stopped its activities. There is no point trying to appeal to the conscience of such insensitive people," says Nayak. People allege that the wildlife authorities are trying to thwart the construction of a pitch road from Rajnagar to Bhitarkanika Park, a distance of about 35 km, in the name of crocodile conservation. "They argue that the construction of the road would increase vehicular traffic, and this in turn would disturb the crocodiles. They also talk about pollution. So, do we stop all developmental work in this area for the sake of the crocodile. Don't we human beings have any right to live?" asks Braja Sunder Behera of Khamarsahi village. Some like him cite the example of Nandankanan Zoological Park and the Simlipal Wildlife Sanctuary where developmental activities have never obstructed wildlife conservation. "If they think motor vehicles coming to the Bhitarkanika will cause noise and pollution, why don't they stop the movement of motorboats and launches in the Bhitarkanika river. Don't these disturb the estuarine crocodile?"