The ‘Wild’ quarantine centres of Uttarakhand

DEHRADUN: People quarantined in remote areas in the hills of Uttarakhand – from where more cases are being reported day by day – have to not just contend with novel coronavirus but also the threat of attacks by wild animals. While leopards are a constant ominous presence – many of those quarantined in primary schools in hill districts say they can hear distinct roaring of leopards every night – another threat is from venomous snakes and wild boars.
A few days ago, a 10-year-old girl staying in a quarantine centre in Betalghat area of Nainital district died after she was bitten by a snake.
Upset with scanty facilities for protection against wild animal attacks, a few Mumbai-returned migrants housed at a government school in Tilla village in Pauri recently uploaded video clips on social media platforms, expressing their concern. Vishram Singh, one of the returnees, told TOI, “The centre where we are housed, has no window panes in the rooms. How do we expect that we will be safe from the attacks of wild animals here?”
Sharing his experience, another returnee from Delhi, Akash Painuli, said, “I was quarantined along with a dozen other people at a centre in Gainda village in Purola block of Uttarkashi. Almost every night, we have been hearing the roar of leopards as they hunt for their prey. It has been really terrifying and all of us have been scared thinking what will happen if a leopard ventures inside our centre.”
Expressing anguish at the lack of facilities at quarantine centres to deal with wild animal attacks, Khim Singh Rawat, the uncle of the girl who died due to snakebite in the Betalghat quarantine centre, told TOI, “At least, quarantine centres should have basic facilities like availability of ambulance to save lives in wild animal attacks. Our child would have been alive if there were ambulance facilities available and she could have reached hospital on time.”
Gram pradhans -- who are responsible for the quarantine arrangements in villages – say that they get complaints regarding presence of wild animals from the quarantined people all the time. “Their grouse is genuine but what can we do? We have told people to be extremely careful so that no mishap happens,” said Sushila Negi, pradhan of Hudoli village in Uttarkashi.
A few gram pradhans from Bageshwar, Pauri Garhwal, Uttarkashi, Champawat and Udham Singh Nagar districts also wrote a letter to their respective block heads a few days ago to help solve the issue. “Due to presence of wild animals, fear has gripped the already frustrated migrants housed in quarantined centres. We have approached local administration to help address the fear,” said Jashoda Devi, former pradhan of Bamradi village in Pauri Garhwal.
Meanwhile, officials are claiming that they are ensuring that quarantine centres, especially those in higher reaches, are well-equipped to keep wild animals at bay. “In the hills, humans and wildlife exist side by side. It is important to remain cautious. On our part, we are ensuring that all the quarantine centres have adequate electricity, water and toilet facility in the premises so that no one wanders out at night and falls prey to wild animals,” said Dhiraj Singh Garbyal, district magistrate, Pauri Garhwal.
The state’s chief wildlife warden Rajiv Bhartari meanwhile said, “We are sending out instructions to all the district magistrates to ensure sufficient awareness about human-wildlife conflict is spread among migrants staying at quarantine centres and also instant medical assistance is provided to the injured. Our frontline forest teams have also been put on alert to avert any such incidents.”
Notably, this year, in the period between January to May, 13 people have lost their lives to wildlife attacks in Uttarakhand and 74 people have been severely injured, as per data of forest department exclusively accessed by TOI.