Green corridor for blackbucks planned in Churu's Tal Chappar

JAIPUR: In a first-of-its-kind effort, a 10km-long, one km-wide green corridor is being planned for the endangered blackbuck, the Indian antelope, at Tal Chappar Sanctuary in Churu district.
The green corridor will connect the present sanctuary with a 600-acre grazing ground in the neighboring Nagaur district, according to the forest department.
The idea was mooted to decongest Tal Chappar Sanctuary, which is now home to an estimated 2,000 to 2,500 blackbucks.
Blackbuck is in the endangered list (included in Schedule 1) of the Wildlife Act 1972. But their numbers have declined due to the degradation of the habitat.
Because of the sharp fall, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) placed them in the near-threatened (NT) category in 2003.
In the absence of any official census, there is no data on the exact population of blackbucks in the country.
Officials said that they have identified 600 acres of grazing land in Nagaur which can grow enough fodder to sustain about 200 blackbucks. But, according to officials, the move has invited some objections from villagers who fear that the animals may stray into their agricultural land resulting in man-animal conflict.
The proposed corridor, which has to pass through Jaswantgarh village, has to obtain the consent of gram panchayat.