Kolkata couple rides over 36,000 km for tiger awareness

A city couple has travelled over 36,000 km on their bike, covering 50 tiger reserves in the country to spread awareness about the conservation of the big cats.

Rathin Das and his wife Gitanjali, residents of Salt Lake, began their journey on February 15 and visited 29 states.

Rathin said his journey was aimed at spreading awareness about the need to preserve and protect the habitat of tigers and minimise man-animal conflict.

"We interacted with 3,000 villagers in the course of our journey for 268 days. We returned to Kolkata on November 10 covering a distance of 36,492 km," he said.

The 50 tiger reserves, he visited during the journey, included Sunderbans, Buxa, Kaziranga, Pilibhit, Nagarjuanasagar, Dudhowa, Ranthambore and Bandipur.

Rathin said 643 awareness campaigns were conducted in schools located near the tiger reserves to sensitise the younger generation about the need to ensure that wild animals and humans do not stray into each other's territory in search of food.

"We also talked to villagers and they said some tourists flout basic guidelines by entering into forest zones playing loud music. We told them to coordinate with forest personnel to prevent such incidents," he said.

The couple was backed by NGOs Exploring Nature, South Asian Forum for Environment (SAFE) and the Asian Wildlife Photographer Club of the UK during the expedition.

Rathin said he found that a large number of villagers are conscious about the need to save the habitat of tigers.

"We will be again hitting the road in January and plan to visit several countries having tiger population. I think there is a need to raise awareness about tiger preservation in every country," he said.

The couple aims to travel through tiger-inhabited zones in Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Indonesia, Vietnam, China and Russia, among others. PTI SUS SOM SOM