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At a time the Omicron Covid-19 variant has been rapidly spreading in the country, Nepalis are flocking to bordering Indian markets. Retailers say businesses of Bardiya district are in dire straits as locals mostly cross the border for shopping, thereby also increasing the risk of covid spread.

According to Matin Idrishi, proprietor of Idrishi Traders on Bhansar Road in Gulariya Municipality-6, Nepalis like going to Indian markets like Balaigaun Bazaar, Laukahi, Chitlawa Bazar, Bathaniya and Tinkuniya to get their necessities. “We, on the other hand, have no business and are only paying rent and tax,” he says. 

“Sometimes, we don’t get a single customer,” he laments. “The government should make long-term plans to promote businesses in the district. Otherwise, we will all go bankrupt.”

Businessmen have also drawn the attention of local administration through the Bardiya Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The business community has asked for overcrowding in the Indian markets to stop. Bardiya Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Devendra Pandey says, “We visited the bordering Laukahi market for monitoring and found it overcrowded. Every day, around 500 people were found to be crossing the border from a single small entry point for household purchases. This has increased the risk of spreading the virus.”

The traders of Bardiya are also on the verge of going bankrupt. Some have already quit business. Pandey reckons businesses of the entire district are at peril. “We have been asking the local administration to establish custom posts to monitor the movement of goods and people and to issue permits for shopping,” he says.

Pandey says security personnel on both sides are slack. Locals especially like visiting the bordering Indian markets during festivals and weddings.

Ramesh Kumar Tharu, a resident of Bhaisahi in Barbardiya Municipality, says he goes to Laukahi to buy daily edibles like cooking oil. Prices there, he says, are relatively cheap, even though the quality of the products on offer are a bit suspect.

Chief District Office Santa Bahadur Sunar says one option would be to seal the open border points but that could invite all kinds of consequences.

While the world celebrated “International Tiger Day” on July 29, challenges for sustainable conservation of the endangered Royal Bengal Tiger have only increased. Due to growing conflict between humans and tigers, lack of food and habitat, and the threat of poaching, conservation of tigers in Nepal has become more challenging.

Tigers—considered an indicator of the well-being of the ecosystem—are growing in numbers in Nepal. At the Global Tiger Summit 2010 held in St. Petersburg, Russia, Nepal had pledged to double the number of tigers in the world by 2022, as the species was on the verge of extinction. Nepal has also shown its own interest in tiger conservation. By 2018, there were 235 Bengal tigers in Nepal including 93 in Chitwan, 87 in Bardiya, 21 in Banke, 18 in Parsa, and 16 in Shuklaphanta National Park.

Annath Baral, chief conservation officer of Bardiya National Park, says the increase in the number of tigers has added challenges to their conservation. The threat of poaching, growing conflicts with humans, as well as cramped habitats and food shortages, have been major challenges for tiger conservation in recent times. With the increase in the number of tigers, there is an increase in their movement to buffer zones and forest areas. “Development of intermediate zones and encroachment of forest areas has become an issue for the tigers and their habitats.” Baral says. Furthermore, the growth rate of their prey has steadily decreased as the grasslands have substantially depleted in recent years.

“Because the tiger’s habitats are being encroached upon, tigers have started living not only in the parks but also in the community and government forests in buffer zones,” explains Baral. In such cases, the park needs to manage food supply and safe habitat for them. Making grasslands, ponds and other habitats in the park alone may not be sufficient. “Therefore, it is necessary to properly manage food and habitat for wildlife even in community and government forest areas,” he adds. 

With the increase in the number of tigers, lack of food has created a situation of conflict between humans and wildlife. Baral says the park has been working every year for the conservation of tigers, grasslands, ponds, habitats and other food supplies. According to Baral, there has even been interaction at the community level, including awareness programs, to help mitigate the conflict with tigers.

Nine people have been killed and two others injured in separate incidents on the Banke-Bardiya Complex, a natural habitat of tigers, over a period of two years. As the number of tigers has increased, so has the loss of property.

According to Rabin Kadaria, a conservation officer of the National Nature Fund Bardiya Conservation Program, seven tigers died in the complex in the same period. Since 2018, one tiger has been killed in Bardiya and two in Banke by poachers. “One tiger was unfortunately killed in an electric trap in Patabhar of Bardiya. While two tigers died in a road accident on the highway. A man-eating tiger has died after being taken under control by park authorities,” he informs. 

“If we don’t pay attention to sustainable conservation of tigers, there is no point in immediate conservation," Kadaria adds. “Conflicts between human and tigers, food and habitat, as well as the threat of poaching are some of the hurdles we face.”