A village in Alipurduar will see its last ever vote cast on April 19, the first day of the Lok Sabha elections, before the forest devours it.

The 115 residents of Bhutia Busty, about 30km from Alipurduar town and located in the Buxa Tiger Reserve, were last week shifted to a new village set up for them near the Bhatpara Tea Estate, about 27km away.

They are moving to make room for tigers and their prey.

However, officials said, they must come back one last time to vote at their designated polling booth — No. 10/1 of Kumargram Assembly segment — at their old village. There isn’t time enough to set up a new booth at their new home.

“The villagers are being relocated as part of a tiger augmentation programme. But the 71 voters from Bhutia Busty will vote for the last time at the PHE pump house (a government office) in the village in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls,” a forest official said.

Around four years ago, forest authorities had been faced with a tough decision on the Buxa Tiger Reserve, where tigers had not been sighted for decades. Suggestions were made that the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) remove the tag of “tiger reserve” from Buxa.

The forest department then prepared a report for the reintroduction of tigers into Buxa, which received NTCA approval.

“It was recommended that some forest villages be relocated and the prey base for tigers be increased (by introducing deer),” an official said.

Efforts over the past few years to increase the grassland and introduce deer in the wild have started to show results. “There were several tiger sightings through trapped cameras this year,” a forest official said.

The Bhutiabusty forest village in the Buxa Tiger Reserve after relocation. Picture courtesy: Bengal forest department

“We have decided to provide transport to all the 71 voters (of Bhutia Busty) so they can go and vote,” Alipurduar district magistrate R. Vimala said.

But an abandoned village could pose a challenge to the polling personnel, who will come the day before the vote and stay overnight.

“Usually, local people help the polling personnel prepare their meals and procure drinking water. This is especially important at booths located in remote places like Bhutia Busty,” an official said.

The administration is now making alternative plans. “We will provide sufficient food, water and other necessary stuff to the polling personnel, keeping in mind the unique situation,” Vimala said.

Experienced polling personnel said there would also be the fear of encounters with wild animals, given the site is an empty village in the core area of a tiger reserve.

The district administration plans to involve forest officials and post more security personnel.

“We began holding meetings with the villagers in 2022 to discuss the relocation. Initially, it was tough to get them to agree. Finally, an MoU was signed between the field director of the tiger reserve and the villagers,” a forest official said.

In keeping with NTCA guidelines, each of the 51 families of Bhutia Busty has been paid a compensation of Rs 15 lakh. “The first instalment of Rs 7.5 lakh was released in December 2023, and the second instalment was paid last Thursday,” a source said.

Among the reasons that persuaded the villagers to agree to relocate were Bhutia Busty’s remoteness and the threat it faces from the River Jainti every monsoon season.

“The Jainti enters our village every monsoon and life becomes difficult,” Brinda Chhetry, 54, a gram panchayat member from Bhutia Busty, said.“I was born here, and everyone loves the village where one is born. But we are hopeful about a new beginning.”

Debasish Sharma, deputy field director of the Buxa Tiger Reserve (east), said chief minister Mamata Banerjee had named the new village “Bon Chhaya”. She has instructed officials to turn it into a model village with all basic amenities and improved infrastructure.

“Since Bhutia Busty was in the core area of the tiger reserve, most of the villagers had small plots of land. Each family has been provided with 8 decimals of land, with land rights, at the new location,” a source said.

Forest officials said the relocation programme represented a win for everyone.

“It will provide them (villagers) with better access to various services, government schemes and improved infrastructure, and reduce the possibility of wildlife conflict,” Sharma said. “Also, a larger inviolate zone with less anthropogenic pressure will be created in the core area of the tiger reserve. Thus, the dual objective of socio-economic uplift of the villagers and a less-disturbed wildlife habitat will be achieved.”

The people of Bhutia Busty have already voted the last time for the Kumargram Assembly seat — in 2021, though they didn’t know it at the time. The new village is in Kalchini Assembly constituency. Both seats are part of Alipurduar Lok Sabha seat.