NER stations to get artistic makeover with wildlife graffiti

BAREILLY : Train travellers in the forest-rich belt of Terai region would soon get to see some amazing wildlife canvases and graffiti on the walls of four North Eastern Railway (NER) stations.

Directors of Pilibhit Tiger Reserve( P TR) and Dudhwa Tiger Reserve H Rajamohan and Sanjay Kumar shot off a letter to NER general manager, Gorakhpur, to allow them to paint the walls of railway stations to depict the rich flora and fauna of the jungles with the help of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

“The idea is a take-off from Sawai Madhopur railway station where walls have been decorated by artists from Ranthambore National Park,” said Rajamohan.

The four railway stations shortlisted for the purpose include Pilibhit, Puranpur, Mailani and Lakhimpur.

He said the idea had already received the approval of principal chief conservator of forest Sunil Pandey and they were just awaiting a response from the railways authorities.

“We will sign a memorandum of understanding with the railways and then rope in artists who will decorate the walls of these stations with the frescos of tigers and other rare species of the forests,” he added.

Pilibhit district magistrate Vaibhav Srivastava is also enthusiastic about the proposal. “We intend to take this up collectively. I will also be writing to the state government for necessary financial help and support to take this forward,” he said.

“The plan to cover Pilibhit and Puranpur railway stations in Pilibhit

district and Mailani and Lakhimpur stations in Kheri district with pictures of wildlife will strengthen efforts to conserve important wildlife species. We will soon send a delegation of senior forest officials to meet railway authorities, including the GM of NE Railway, to finalise the plans,” said Sunil Pandey, PCCF of UP.

Forest officials said if Ranthambore could do it why cannot they? “After all, we have such a huge diversity of wildlife and other rare species in both the forest belts of Lakhimpur-Kheri and Pilibhit districts,” said Navin Khandelwal, deputy director of PTR. While Dudhwa Tiger Reserve in Kheri, along with its three branches namely, Dudhwa National Park, Kishanpur wildlife sanctuary and Katarniaghat wildlife sanctuary —stretches over 2,200 sq km, the PTR is spread over 730 sq km.

The two tiger reserves have several species of wild carnivores, herbivores, aquatic life, rodents, reptiles, lizards, birds and insects. Tigers, leopards, sloth bears in PTR, and rhinos and elephants in addition to big cats in DTR, are some of the most distinctive species that require special conservation plans due to many factors, including a rise in man-animal conflict.

› The idea is a take-off from Sawai Madhopur railway station where walls have been decorated by artists from Ranthambore National Park. H RAJAMOHAN, director PTR