The rainy season at Palamau tiger reserve witnesses the emergence of a team of men and women, who patrol the reserve on foot till the end of September.

The job of the “Monsoon Men’ as some call them, is seasonal, and they work only during the rainy season at Rs 249 per day as wages.

They operate from sunrise to sunset in plainclothes. They are not allowed to wear khaki, the colour of police uniforms, or red and yellow colours, as these are known to irritate wildlife.

Mukesh Kumar, the deputy director, Indian Forest Service, south division, Palamau said, “Gender does not matter here. What matters is the commitment to duty in jungles in the rainy season when there are many dangers, seen or unseen.”

Dhotis and lungis are banned for the men but sarees are allowed for the women members of the force.

“The monsoon patrolling aims at protecting our wildlife from poachers. Grass and shrubs grow fast in the rainy season, obstructing visibility and adding extra hiding places to the poachers. This has to be curbed,” Kumar added.

“In the rainy season, the routes turn unsuitable for bike patrolling. The foot patrols enable us to negotiate inaccessible terrain. Besides, it causes minimal disturbance to wildlife, as for many animals this is the mating season,” he added.

Sources said the patrolling has begun in the north and south divisions, each of which has four ranges.

Sources said 60 per cent of the tiger reserve, spread a little over 1,100 square km is vulnerable as CPI (Maoists) have many hideouts here.

The state government has set up security posts inside the reserve at Labher, Betla, Kaer, Morwai, Bareysarn, Karamdeeh, Mandal, Garu and Maromar.

There are three pahars (hills) here called Labher, Jaigeer and the Burha pahars. A contingent of security forces is stationed right on the top of Labher pahar, 400 metres above the sea level. The foothills of Jaigeer pahar and Burha pahar are also patrolled by security forces to keep Maoists at bay.

Sources said the monsoon patrol is also under the threat by the Maoists.

Kumar said, “The men on the monsoon patrol are locals residents, who know the area well. They will not arouse the suspicion of the extremists.”

The south division of the reserve has a herd of elephants at Bareysarn and there is a critical core area for big carnivores like tigers and leopards as well.

Kumar said, “We have briefed our monsoon patrol contingent to be extra wary of the elephants.”

He added that the team was also following social distancing.