Checkposts, Wireless Service: Life at Chhattisgarh's Achanakmar Tiger Reserve

Achanakmar Tiger Reserve is located in Chhattisgarh's Mungeli district.

Since mobile connectivity is extremely poor in Achanakmar Tiger Reserve, people have to rely completely on wireless services and local buses to travel to nearby towns and cities.

(Photo Courtesy: Deepanwita Gita Niyogi)

Bhimsen Napit is in charge of the morning shift at the Shivtarai Forest checkpost or 'naka' inside Chhattisgarh's Achanakmar Tiger Reserve. The road from the checkpost leads to Amarkantak, where the Narmada originates. “Many use this route, and hence their vehicles are inspected,” said Napit, whose duty hours are from 10 AM to 8 PM.

Many people living in the 19 villages of the reserve haven’t even been to cities like Bilaspur and Kota. Some want to step outside their villages, but are unable to do so due to several constraints. 

On the way through the forested road, there are six checkposts such as this one. After Shivtarai, there are nakas at Barighat, Achanakmar, Chhaparwa, Lamni and Keochi. At the checkposts, staff members use wireless services to contact colleagues using code words.

A local bus stops at the Chhaparwa checkpost so that passengers can partake refreshments. In the monsoon, the forest road is closed for private vehicles. Only those who stay inside the villages are allowed to travel besides the buses, which are a lifeline for locals.

“Driving on this route is challenging as the road is not in a good condition. It is patchy and broken. Sometimes the bus sways from side to side and heavy rainfall makes the road slippery," a bus conductor named Dineshwar Sonwani said. The bus on which he works comes from Bilaspur city, around 70 km away.

Passengers eat at a local dhaba-style hotel at the Chhaparwa checkpost during a short break.

A view of Achanakmar village inside the tiger reserve. It is one of the biggest villages in the reserve, thus making Achanakmar an important checkpost. 

Tourist guide Kushal Tirwani said that he accompanies visitors in gypsy-styled vehicles during safaris. “Here tourism is yet to pick up properly. In other tiger reserves, the focus is much more on tourism.”

According to him, offbeat travelers and locals from Bilaspur frequent Achanakmar.

A view inside one of the buses that operate inside the tiger reserve.

A staff member at the Chhapatwa naka. Staff members work even during heavy rains.

A staff member at the Barighat checkpost. Life is not easy for those on duty. Napit recalled that in 2014, there were no concrete buildings. “The staff used to sit inside a bamboo structure like the one still existing at Barighat. We could not sleep or rest due to the lack of beds.”

A staff member writes down a message for delivery. Sometimes during heavy rains, the wireless service stops functioning or voices become unclear. At such times, staff members travel in vehicles and pass on messages.

Cloud cover indicating heavy rainfall in Achanakamar.

The wireless service is a lifeline throughout the tiger reserve. 

A staff member mans the Achanakmar checkpost.

A tribal woman making brooms in one of the villages inside Achanakmar.

Pakoda and newspapers keep staff members company on rain-soaked days.

Heavy downpour in the tiger reserve. 

One of the roads used by buses. Hablu Ekka, an Oraon tribal man, relies on such buses to meet his son once a month.  “He lives in a hostel. I spend Rs 300 up and down once a month to see him. My son is 14 years old,” said Ekka.

After deboarding, he has to walk on foot for three km to reach home.

Hablu Ekka and a woman named Urmila inside a bus. The latter is from Achanakmar village. Urmila relies on the bus service to reach Gobaripat village in Kota often. “It costs Rs 40. Those who don’t have bikes travel by the bus. There are 25-30 travelers on average and sometimes it goes up to 40. There have been times when buses have stopped midway due to rains.”