A Rural Kho Kho Tournament to Spread the Message of Tiger Conservation
Shenda Village, Gondia, Maharashtra; September 08, 2016: Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), in collaboration with the Maharashtra Forest Department, recently organised the first ever Nazgira Kho Kho Sports Event for village schools located in the Nazgira-Navegaon wildlife corridor. The event, part of a series of community outreach activities that have been conducted since 2006 under WTI’s Central India Tiger Habitat Conservation Project, was held at the Ashramshala School sports ground in Shenda village, Sadak Arjuni tehsil, Gondia on August 30 and 31.
WTI has used popular local sports to build ties with communities in other parts of the country as well. An Asian Elephant Football Tournament was held in Kochugaon, Assam in 2014 to spread awareness about the plight of elephants in Manas. More recently, the renovation of a football ground in Bibragre village, Meghalaya, led villagers to set aside six hectares of community forest land for a Village Reserve Forest. In the current instance Kho Kho was chosen due to its popularity as a rural sport in the central Indian region.
A game in progress at the Nazgira Kho Kho Sports Event for village schools located in the Nazgira-Navegaon wildlife corridor
Twelve teams from eight schools participated in the tournament under two groups: Class I-IV and Class V-VII. The RFOs of Goregaon and Sadak Arjuni, Mr SM Jadav and Mr GS Rathore, inaugurated the event, which was also attended by Deputy Sarpanch Mr Chaatrpal Parteti, Dawwa Biodiversity Management Committee (BMC) President Mr Vilas Chawahan, WTI State Facilitator Mr Prafulla Bhamburkar, and over 300 students, teachers, villagers and BMC members.
A specially designed caricature map was released by the Chief Guest, Mr Uttam Sawant, Deputy Director – Nazrgira Navegaon Tiger Reserve, during the event. The map depicts key faunal species and topographical features of the Nagzira Navegaon Tiger Reserve, along with the human settlements and highways that affect wildlife. An exhibition of wildlife photographs reflecting the local biodiversity was also displayed at the venue.
The tournament was won by the Zilla Parishad Primary School, Ushikheda in both groups. The Zilla Parishad Primary School, Shenda, and the Zilla Parishad Primary School, Mundipar placed 2nd and 3rd respectively in the ClassI-IV group while the Zilla Parishad Upper Primary School, Mundipar, and the Zilla Parishad Upper Primary School, Dawwa placed 2nd and 3rd respectively in the Class V-VII group.
A caricature map on the Nazgira Navegaon Tiger Reserve was also released at the event
Prizes were distributed to the winners by the Chief Guest Mr Uttam Sawant; Mr Sushil Gupta, ACF – Wildlife, Kohmara; Mr Deepak Bagde, RFO – Wildlife, Kohmara; Mr Mohanlal Borkar, Police Patil, Shenda; and WTI State Facilitator Mr Prafulla Bhamburkar. WTI Assistant Manager Mr Anil Kumar extended the organisers’ thanks to Mr Ulhas Narad, District Education Officer of the zilla parishad, for his support of the event.
The biodiversity-rich central Indian landscape is home to almost 600 wild tigers. WTI’s Central India Tiger Habitat Conservation Project has worked since 2006 to conserve important habitat linkages, including the critical Nazgira-Navegaon corridor, in this increasingly fragmented landscape.
