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In Forests of Dooars, North Bengal
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Happy New Year!
In a few hours, i'm leaving for the forests of Dooars for a week. For those of you who are unfamiliar with it, a brief introduction... Map of Dooars.  *This image is copyright of its original author Dooars is a moderately forested region situated in North Bengal (actually northern Bengal), a narrow corridor that joins rest of India with the Northeast since partition in '47. This is where the Ganga-Brahmaputra plain ends & Himalayan foothills begin. The name comes from the word "duar", meaning door in classical Bengali, the doorway to Bhutan. The stretch from Neora Valley National Park to Buxa Tiger Reserve, covering the three districts of Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri & Alipurduar is technically Western Dooars, with the eastern one beyond the Sankosh river made up of the Manas TR of Assam, but that term is not as popular. In the past most of the region was a wilderness of monsoon forest & grasslands that joined the Terai with Brahmaputra floodplains. For much of its history the region formed is frontier between the Kingdoms of Bhutan & Coochbehar (Koch Bihar). After the Duar War, saw deforestation during the British era as large swathes of land came under tea plantations, that still sit on elephant corridors, causing considerable conflict & death on both sides. Some communities that they kicked out from ancestral lands were settled here to work as semi-bonded labourers. Many of those plantations lie closed from time to time because paying reasonable wage simply isn't profitable! I'll provide detailed info as i write along. In the meantime, if you want to know more on wildlife of Bengal, then this treasure trove has all data: http://www.wildbengal.com |
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