In tiger territory, LPG and toilet emerge as big lifesavers

India Today

3 days ago

"I feel much safer now. Because of an LPG connection and a toilet at home, we aren't encountering tigers or other wild animals these days in the jungle," says Pavithra S of Asthuru village in Karnataka's Chamarajanagar district.Govindamma from Soolekobe village says an LPG connection has reduced her trips to the forest for firewood and, thereby, risks of encounters with wild animals. "Earlier, I made 10 trips a month to the forest for firewood. Now it's just one or two trips," the 30-year-old villager says.advertisementAsthuru and Sooleke are villages inside the Malai Mahadeshwara Wildlife Sanctuary.
Both Pavithra and Govindamma have benefited from the LPG connection provided by Holematthi Nature Foundation, a Karnataka-based NGO.In Maharashtra's Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve, toilets under the Swachh Bharat Mission (Rural) have helped bring down incidents of man-animal conflict and casualties, say experts. Experts believe the same is unfolding in Uttar Pradesh's Pilibhit Tiger Reserve, Uttarakhand's Corbett Tiger Reserve and other wildlife sanctuaries.Villagers, forest officials, conservationists and wildlife experts tell India Today Digital how an LPG connection and a toilet at home have helped bring down deaths in attacks by wild animals, even as the overall toll of tiger attacks has increased in India, corresponding with the rising tiger population in the country. Under the Ujjwala scheme, the government provides free connection and subsidised LPG cylinders.advertisementWhat they narrate is how two centrally sponsored schemes – the LPG-providing Ujjwala Yojana and the toilet-building Swachh Bharat Mission – are scripting a success story in faraway forest settings.Though there is a lack of government data, say experts, there is anecdotal evidence in abundance.The government, acknowledging the impact, has ordered the construction of toilets on priority in villages within eco-sensitive zones in Karnataka.This was after a request from wildlife biologist and conservationist Sanjay Gubbi, whose Holematthi Nature Foundation has over the years witnessed how LPG connections and toilets have helped save lives.The focus on toilets and LPG to dissuade villagers from venturing into secluded areas of forests is nothing new for foresters, and there have been state-specific projects as well. However, the Ujjwala and Swachh Bharat schemes seem to be turning out to be pan-India game-changers.This is indeed a silver lining.India has seen a spurt in deaths due to tiger attacks, especially since 2022.There has been an alarming spike in May with 24 people dying in tiger attacks, against 16 lives lost in the same period in 2024.INCREASE IN TIGERS AND TIGER-HUMAN CONFLICTS IN INDIAIndia has 3,682 tigers in the wild, which is 70% of the world's wild tiger population, according to the tiger estimation of 2022. The country has added 1,456 tigers since 2014.advertisementThis in itself is a turnaround tale.Widespread poaching and habitat loss left tigers on the brink of extinction in India, which led Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to launch Project Tiger in 1973. India had just 1,800 tigers then.Project Tiger became a roaring success.Building on that, India, in 2010, set a target of doubling its tiger population by 2022, which it achieved by 2018 – with 4 years to spare.While the tiger population has increased, jungles have shrunk.Traditional forest cover in India reduced by 92,989 sq km between 2011 and 2021, of which 46,707.11 sq km was lost inside Reserve Forest Areas, according to the Forest Survey of India.
Between 2014 and 2024, tiger attacks in India resulted in 621 human deaths, with Maharashtra accounting for the majority of these fatalities. (Image: Getty)
With the carrying capacity of forests exceeded, and human activities extending deep inside jungles, the incidents of human-tiger conflicts have seen a big rise. What has made matters worse is the condition of corridors, which connect wildlife habitats and have turned reserves into tiger islands.advertisementThe high tiger density in these fragmented spaces could also be leading to fights among the animals over territory and prey base, forcing out some big cats into fringe areas that see more human activity.According to central government data, more than 600 people were killed in tiger attacks in the country between 2014 and 2024, an average of 60 deaths annually. Deaths increased after 2022, correlating with a growing tiger population.HOW TOILETS ARE SAVING LIVES FROM TIGERS IN TADOBA, CORBETT AND PILIBHITShalik Jogwe, a conservationist and tour operator, from Maharashtra's Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve, says that tiger attacks on people, especially women, have gone down since 2015 after the Swachh Bharat toilet scheme was implemented."Women in forest villages used to choose secluded spots to relieve themselves, which saw early morning attacks by tigers," says Jogwe.Tiger attacks can be prevented if tigers stay inside jungles and people can be kept away from tiger territory. That is what mitigation efforts are directed at.advertisementThe Tadoba-based conservationist counts four main reasons behind human-wildlife conflict in forest areas — farming, cattle grazing, minor forest produce (MFP) collection and open defecation."In Tadoba, entire villages would go to relieve themselves in the open earlier. Now, all houses have toilets," says Jogwe.While non-timber forest produce collection for sale is a seasonal affair, venturing inside the jungle for firewood and open defecation was a year-round problem, he says.Conservationist and ecotourism expert Imran Khan says that both toilets and LPG connections are likely to have helped reduce man-wildlife conflicts in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh by reducing the movement of locals into tiger habitats."Ninety-five percent of the conflicts take place within tiger habitats, which extend all the way into the periphery of the villages. Movement of villagers into high-tiger-density habitats either in Corbett Tiger Reserve or Pilibhit Tiger Reserve is the major cause of man-animal conflict," says Khan.
A resident of a village inside MM Hills Wildlife Sanctuary in Karnataka's Chamarajanagar district with her free LPG hotplate and cylinder. A resident of one such village said the LPG connection had reduced the number of trips she had to make deep inside the forest for firewood. (Credit: Holematthi Nature Foundation)
advertisementDECADES-OLD KNOWLEDGE IMPLEMENTED NOWThat toilets and alternatives to firewood can help reduce human-wildlife conflict isn't a recent discovery.Rajiv Bhartari, a veteran wildlife expert and former Principal Chief Conservator of Forests of Uttarakhand, says, "Toilets have been a priority for interventions since Uttarakhand's statehood."He says the allocation of four percent of the budget in the community tourism plan for Agora village in Uttarkashi district in 2005 emerged as the most beneficial investment a decade later."Toilets play a crucial role in addressing human-wildlife conflicts in specific locations. However, they are just one component of a broader strategy," says Bhartari.Other strategies, the expert says, include regularly clearing bushes along pathways, eliminating invasive species in village areas, ensuring adequate outdoor lighting, and proper disposal of food waste.Maharashtra, a state with high tiger numbers and tiger-attack deaths, has worked for a decade to reduce forest dependency in villages within and around protected areas. Jitendra Ramgaonkar, the Chief Conservator of Forests (wildlife) of Chandrapur, where the Tadoba Tiger Reserve is located, cites Maharashtra's Shyamaprasad Mukherji Jan Van Yojana, which offers Rs 25 lakh grants to forest villages to reduce reliance on forests for livelihood, firewood, or defecation."There has been a big reduction in incidents and deaths where people going to collect firewood or to defecate were attacked by tigers and leopards since the scheme was started in 2015. This is despite a three-time increase in tiger numbers," Ramgaonkar tells India Today Digital.TOILETS HAVE BROUGHT BEHAVIOURAL CHANGES AMONG TRIBALSDoddathayamma, a 40-year-old from Jayammanadoddi village in Chamarajnagar district, says earlier she would frequently hear of fatal attacks by animals, especially by elephants. Such news, she says, has become rare since villagers got LPG connections and toilets.Conservationist Sanjay Gubbi of NGO Holematthi, which works with villagers like Doddathayamma, says there is a lack of nationwide data on these issues."However, at the sites where we work, we have scientifically documented an 85% decrease in per capita firewood usage after alternative energy sources were provided," Gubbi tells India Today Digital.Maharashtra forester Jitendra Ramgaonkar says toilets and the safety attached to them have brought about a behavioural change in people."Tribal people who earlier used to go to forests to defecate despite having toilets at home are now using the toilets after seeing that it is safer and protects them from being attacked by tigers and leopards," he explains.Toilets might be crucial in preventing attacks by leopards in Uttarakhand's hill districts like Pauri Garhwal and Almora.Harendra Singh Bargali, Deputy Director, The Corbett Foundation, says leopards are often drawn to human settlements in search of small livestock and occasionally attack children."Providing proper toilet facilities can play a crucial role in reducing human-leopard conflicts in Uttarakhand," he says.
Govindamma (L) of Soolekobe village, who received an LPG connection, and Pavithra S of Asthuru village, who got both an LPG connection and a toilet, say their lives are safer now, after the Karnataka-based NGO helped them. (Images: Holematthi Nature Foundation)
WHY VILLAGERS STILL VENTURE DEEP INTO FORESTSIf villagers like Govindamma receive LPG cylinders, why do they still need to go into forests and risk encounters with wild animals?Both Jogwe and Khan, the conservationists from Tadoba and Corbett, say that though LPG connections have helped, the villagers aren't getting the number of refills as required.Also, there is the question of livelihood through the sale of non-timber forest products like honey and tendu leaves. At times, villagers also collect firewood to sell in the market.Wildlife expert Bhartari shares an incident from a meeting in Sankar village of Almora district to explain that there is no magic bullet for the issue of human-animal conflict.The village meeting was held to extend support to Kamla Devi, who had survived a tiger attack in the neighbouring Jameriya village. Both the villages are in the buffer zone of Corbett Tiger Reserve.The women from the Rachnatmak Mahila Manch stated, "Hum jangle jana chhod denge; hum jangle se ghas lana chhod denge; par ye jo hamari dahleej par guldar aur baagh aa rahe hain, unka hum kya karein?"The villagers said they were willing to stop venturing into the forest, but what do they do about the leopards and tigers that are reaching their doorsteps?"There is no one or simple answer to their question. A greater understanding of the conflict through research, detailed planning, and site-specific actions is necessary to effectively address such situations," says Bhartari.Human-wildlife conflict is a species-specific issue in sanctuaries that are all unique in their own way, and there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Small steps like providing toilets and LPG cylinders help in a big way, but they will need to be supplemented with site-specific action."Tigers have adapted to living with human beings and now, it is high time that humans too learn to live with tigers," says Corbett-based Khan.Must Watch