16.02.2009
Arjuns body was delayed in arrival, so the men spent three days in Bageshwar. Once the cremation occurred at the confluence of the sacred Gomti and Saryu Rivers they made the journey home.
The snow on the ground lasted less than 48 hours and we have once again returned to warmer than normal temperatures. The women haven't had their normal 'holiday' this winter season - heavy snow usually equates to ample time to sit, chat and have copious cups of chai. No such luxury this year. It could also be extrapolated from this little detail that the forests also haven't had a 'break' from resource extraction with leaves, wood and green fodder leaving the forests at an alarming rate.
On the positive side, the Pindari valley is a recent inclusion into the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve. The government has so far offered a few 'sweeteners' to villagers for Khati's inclusion into the Reserve ranging from new pressure cookers to four gas stoves (not used) and two poly houses (one of which is already falling into disrepair). We presume in the future tighter controls on forest resources will be introduced but haven't as yet been able to ground truth what being included into the Reserve really means for villagers.
In the last few days we have toured the new Forest Department Reserve nursery sites of Dhakuri, Khati and Liburghar. The nursuries not only provide increased forest cover but for local paid employment (100 rupees per day) for wall/tank building, tree planting and maintenance.
In the last few days the dogs of Liburghar (one and a half km from Khati) have been vanishing. One dogs demise was witnessed by a villager who had gone out at night for a 'pee' - a leopard is the culprit. On these nights the dogs of Khati have spent the whole night barking.
Last month in Song a six year old Nepali boy was out wood collecting in the forest while his parents worked on a nearby road gang. At 5pm it was noticed that he was missing and a frantic search ensured, the remains of his body was found wedged in a rock crevice not long after. He was the first victim of a leopard kill in the area. The next came last week when another child was killed near Bageshwar. The reality that we are part of the food chain and often lower down than we would like to think is all too obvious...
Bonnie
PEAK
