It deals with the transformation that that taken place during last few decades in terms of 'development' induced increasing population pressure and its impact on environment with special reference to loss of biodiversity.

1. TransformaTion of
fooThills of Jalpaiguri:
DevelopmenT or DisasTer?
Presented
By
A.K. M. Anwaruzzaman, Selection
Grade Lecturer, Malda College, Malda,
presently Research Scholar (UGC-FIP),
CHS, NBU
&
Prof. R. Sahu, Professor & Director,
CHS, NBU

2. •BengalTiger found dead near railway track,The Hindu, June 19, 2007
•Scent of human in Leopard death,TheTelegraph (Kolkata), April 04, 2008
•Leopard dead on tracks – railways deny collision charge,TheTelegraph (Kolkata), August 13, 2008
•More casualties in man-elephant conflict, The Statesman (Kolkata), July 23, 2008 “The man-
elephant conflict continues in north Bengal with five human casualties in the last 15 days.” “At least
nine wild elephants too have died unnatural deaths in North Bengal in the past 45 days by way of
electrocution, poisoning and train accident.”
•Three elephants killed in a day,TheTelegraph (Kolkata), July 19, 2008
•Train runs over elephant calf in North Bengal, News Post India, July 26, 2007
•Elephants body found near Indo-Bhutan border,TheTimes of India, July 26, 2007
•Train kills another elephant,The statesman news service, April 12, 2007
•Villagers and Elephants fight for right to life in India, Reuters, January 11, 2007 “When a herd of
wild elephants rampaged through a school kitchen in India's West Bengal state, gobbling up rice and
lentils, seven-year-old Suman Bera and classmates were left without lunch -- and lessons.”

3. Day to day happenings
continued……
 Bengal forest officials concerned over mysterious death of elephants, The Daily India, Dec 24, 2006
 Elephants have a meal, The Telegraph (Kolkata), November 29, 2006 “After unscrupulous
suppliers and careless teachers, it is the turn of wild elephants to wreak havoc with the
mid-day meal for school children”.
 Man-elephant conflicts in Assam causing concern, The Hindu, December 15, 2006
 Separate trains hit and kill 2 elephants in a week in Indian state, The Associated Press, November
19, 2006
 Wild elephants spread havoc across Darjeeling tea estates, October 28, 2006
 The Collision Course,The Statesman (Kolkata), May 25, 2007
 Conflicts over coexistence, The Statesman (Kolkata), December 12, 2008
 Standing together to save the elephants, The Statesman (Kolkata), 16 January, 2009

4. Picture 066.jpg
Development at what cost and for whom?

5. Development leads where?

6. How secure is the future of?

7. gfdfdgfgfddfgfd
Development at what cost?

8. ⇒

10. Trend of Growth of population (1901-2001) in Jalpaiguri district
0
500000
1000000
1500000
2000000
2500000
3000000
3500000
4000000
1901 1911 1921 1931 1941 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001
Year
Population
Population

11. Diagram-3: Population Growth: Jalpaiguri VsWest Bengal (1901-2001)
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
1901 1911 1921 1931 1941 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001
Year
IndicesofPopulation
growth
Jalpaiguri WestBengal

12. Ist
2nd 4th
7th
3rd
⇒
2ND
4TH
6TH
1ST
5TH
3RD
7TH

13. Ist stream of migration from
Jharkhand
 Mainly migration of tribals from Jharkhand.
 Tea plantation starting with Gajoldoba T.G. in
1874.
 Rail line construction: a) Bengal-Dooars Railway
(BDR) was established to transport the locally
available resources in 1893.
b) Assam-Bengal Railway Company in 1892 to
transport Tea and Jute.
 Bengal Lime and Stone Company (BLSCo) in
1932 to mine Limestone, Dolomite and Calcite.

14. 2nd
Stream of migration from
Bangladesh
 Propelled by partition of India in 1947.
 11,700,000 refugees arrived in India from East
Pakistan.
 Jalpaiguri witnessed 48.27% growth rate
during 1951-61.

15. 3rd
stream of migration from Tibet
 Tibetan migration during 1950s.
 Chinese aggression in Tibet in 1950.
 Tibetan Uprising in 1956.
 Severe atrocities by Chinese Red Army to crash
uprising led to death of 80,000 in central Tibet alone.
 Some 1.5 lakh Tibetan took shelter in India.
 Large number of Tibetans settled in the foothills of
Jalpaiguri mainly Bhutanghat, Sinchula, Buxa Fort and
Santalabari region.

16. 4th
stream of migration from
Bangladesh
 Triggered by War of Independence of Bangladesh in
1971.
 Bengali speaking mainly Hindus and some others
(10million) took shelter in W.B.
 Atrocity by Pak Army and also economic insecurity
functioned as ‘push factor’.
 Large number of Bangladeshi refugees settled in
Jalpaiguri district.
 P. Datta (2002) observes “between October and the end
of the year 2002, an estimated 5,000 to 20,000
Bangladeshis, Hindu and other minorities fled to India”.

17. 5th
stream of migration from
Assam
 Propelled by Assam Accord 1985.
 Tripartite Assam Accord (15th
Aug, 1985) was
signed among ASSU, Assam state and Indian
Dominion.
 Provisions of Assam Accord, particularly clauses
b, c and d frightened all Bengali speaking people.
 Bengali people were threatened with dire
consequences.
 Many Bengalis migrated to Jalpaiguri and
Coochbehar from Assam and the process is still
on.
 Around 50 thousand people settled only in
Alipurduar Sub-division.

18. 6th
stream of migration from
Nepal
 Encouraged by Indo-Nepal Treaty of Peace and
Friendship, 31st
July, 1950.
 Allowed free movement of goods and people.
 Free movement of Nepalese anywhere in India.
 Immigration of Nepalese in India was allowed.
 Nepalese can own landed property and can be
employed.
 They will enjoy equal rights at per Indian citizens
in India.
 Entire Dooars received this stream.

19. Year Nepali immigrants
in India
1951 278972
1961 498836
1971 526526
1981 501292
1991 478694
Nepali migration in India
Source:Collected from Dutta, P. (2002): “ Nepali Migration in India”, p.18
retrieved from http://www.iussp.org/Bankok/2002/511Datta.Pdf

20. 7th
stream of migration from
Bhutan
 Agitation in favour of democracy (1991-92) by
Bhupalese angered the Monarch.
 Bhupalese (Nepali origin but residence of
Bhutan) were driven out of Bhutan.
 The ethnic cleansing resulted expulsion of
1,00,000 Bhupalese from Bhutan.
 Expelled Bhupalese took shelter in different
camps in Jalpaiguri district.
 Bagrakot, Kalchini, Looksan and Birpara have
such Bhupali refugee camps.

21. Population growth and deforestation in selected villages
Block/Police
Station
Mouza/Village Forest area
(ha) (1981)
Forest area
(ha) (1991)
Decadal
change in ha
Decadal (1981-91)
growth rate of pop.
(%)
Mal Gajoldoba 1184.92 00 (-) 1184.92 -00.04
Banarhat Maraghat 4571.78 00 (-) 4571.78 NA
Birpara Riti Forest 459.72 459.72 No change 19.05
Madarihat Titi forest 2847.40 2847.40 No change 06.00
Kalchini Bhutri forest 1507.46 1507.46 No change 44.20
Kumargram Raydak 10036.21 510.00 (-) 9526.21 791.00
Metiali Nimna Tandu 366.65 366.65 No change 149.64
Source: District Census Handbook, Jalpaiguri, Census of India, 1971, 1981 and 1991.

22. BTR= Buxa Tiger Reserve GRMR= Gorumara W S
JLDP= Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary GRBT= Gorubathan WS
MWS= Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary
Bio-diversity Reserves, National Parks and
Wildlife Sanctuaries of Dooars
⇒
977.51 sq. km

24. What major ‘Development’ projects are
being
implementeD ?
 Tista barrage and Tista Low Dam Project (under
costruction)
 Alipurduar-Siliguri MG line converted into BG line
 NH 31 and newly constructed (incomplete) East-West
corridor pass through this region
 Part of ILRP i.e. Brahmaputra-Sankosh-Farakka section
is aligned through this region
 Indo-Bhutan Rail link

25. What are the problems then?
 Shrinking of natural habitats for wild lives
 Sever encroachment of forest area by locals and
development agencies as well as poachers and
timber smugglers / thieves
 Herds of elephants and other animals coming
out of forest in search of food and raiding
standing crops and human habitats. Result is
conflicts for bare existence.
 Speeding trains (after MG conversion into BG
lines) and heavy vehicular traffic through NH 31
and East-West Corridor.
 Elephant corridors are dismantled causing heavy
death toll.

27. Elephant calf killed by Guwahati
bound goods train near Garopara
on 12th
April, 2007
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28. Royal Bengal Tiger killed by
Kanchenjungha Express near Dolon Tea
Estate on 18th
June, 2007

29. Scent of human in leopard death
Posted by barunroy on April 4, 2008
MechparaTea Estate (Alipurduar), April 3: A leopard found dead here
yesterday might have succumbed to injuries suffered during a fight with a
worker of a neighbouring tea garden last week.
Ganesh Gurung in hospital. Picture by Anirban Choudhury

32. What remedies?
1. People from out side of the region should be discouraged to
settle in the region through taxation and revenue policy.
Something like inner line permit may be introduced.
2. Bhupalese should be sent back to Bhutan after discussing the
issue with both Nepal and Bhutan Govt.
3. All Bangladeshis who have entered in this region illegally
after1971 should be identified and the issue has to be taken up
with Bangladesh Govt. so that Bangladeshis may be pushed back
peacefully.
4. Vigil along both Bangladesh and Bhutan border should be
increased and fencing of border should be finished quickly to
check infiltration.
5. No large sized ‘so called’ development projects are to be
implemented which will further destroy already stressed ecology.

33. 6. All further development works have to be planned such a
way that the environment is least altered and damaged
and maximum manual works are generated for local
people to arrest further degradation of forest.
7. Joint Forest Management and Community Forest
Protection Group are to be formed and patronized.
8. Indigenous people should be given back their right of
collection of minor forest produces.
9. Frequency of train services should be restricted and speed
of such trains must be regulated honouring Kolkata High
Court’s direction in this regard.

34. What remedies?
10. No goods train, particularly during night, be allowed to ply
on the root.
11. Train plying in the Alipurduar-Malbazar-Siliguri section
during night time should be immediately withdrawn.
12. Alignment of East-West Corridor along the N. H. 31 will prove
to be disastrous. Bakshirhat-Tufanganj-Coohbehar-Falakata
and then along S H 12 is the only economically viable and
environmentally least harmfull option.
13. Brahmaputra-Sankosh-Farakka section of the ILRP should be
immediately scrapped as it is not environmentally
sustainable and going to be disastrous both financially and
politically (Indo-Bangla relation).

35. What remedies?
14. Fencing of railway passing through the forest region of this
area have to be taken up along with construction of under
passes for wild lives at a distance of every 500 metres to
facilitate free and safe movement of the wild animals.
15. Some 125-150 under passes will be required to be built. Each
under pass may cost around 5-7 lakhs amounting an
investment ranging 6.25 crore to 7.5 crore.
16. This will save the lives of hundreds of wildlives being
crushed each year.