Guwahati, Nov. 17: Kitchen hartal, the time-tested instrument of protest of sulking wives, is set to become the new mantra of an anti-poaching campaign at the Manas National Park.
The method is simple: women living on the fringes of the park are refusing to cook any meat that the men bring home from their hunting trips to the national park.
“It is showing good results. At first the men grumbled and themselves sat down to cook. But it is not possible for men to cook regularly. As a result, hunting expeditions have come down considerably,” said Mahendra Basumatary, general secretary of Manas Maozigendri Ecotourism Society — an NGO working in the field of ecology.
The society, which is working in tandem with the forest department, includes former Bodo militants, Absu members and even reformed poachers.
Their untiring efforts have considerably lessened hunting sprees to Manas, classified by Unesco as a “World Heritage Site in Danger”. Some of the most commonly hunted animals in the park are birds and deer.
The society is now motivating people not to destroy forest resources by cutting down valuable trees for firewood.
“Women can play a crucial role in conservation, by convincing the men to give up their ways. With that in mind, we formed a women’s group to convince men that cutting down forest resources and killing wild animals would do no good,” Basumatary added.
Field director of Manas Tiger Reserve Abhijit Rabha agreed. “The volunteers have really made an impact,” he said.
The society is currently working in the eastern part of the core area of Manas Tiger Reserve and 57 villages surrounding it.
The women’s group at work has 35 members, who lead the motivation campaigns in these villages.
That the All Bodo Students’ Union is supporting the campaign has helped, said Basumatary. “The Absu’s decisions are respected by the people. The students leaders are seen as saviours by the people as the organisation lends its helping hand in times of distress.”
Thanks to the joint effort, the programme has been a success till now.
“For those men who are still refusing to comply, we will have to find some other way out,” said Basumatary. Unfortunately, the way to their hearts is not through the stomach
