SIGUR FALLS

Sigur Plateau (Segur Plateau) is a plateau in the north and east of Nilgiri District in the Nilgiri Hills of Tamil Nadu, South India. It covers the 778.8 square kilometres (300.7 sq mi) portion of the Moyar River drainage basin on the northern slopes of the Nilgiri Hills, south of the Moyar River.
The Sigur Plateau is notable as an important wildlife corridor maintaining connectivity between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats to sustain elephant and tiger numbers and their genetic diversity.
It is an important link between several contiguous protected areas forming the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, the largest protected forest area in India. This area supports over 6,300 elephants, that represents the largest single population of elephants and tigers in India.

The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, which includes Sigur Plateau and the Nilgiri Hills, is part of the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves.The Western Ghats, the Nilgiri Sub-Cluster (more than 6,000 square kilometres (2,316.6 sq mi)), including all of Mudumalai National Park and the reserve forests of the Sigur Plateau, is under consideration by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for selection as a World Heritage Site. A proposal has been initiated to notify Sigur and adjoining forest areas as a wildlife sanctuary for Vultures.Sigur Plateau (Segur Plateau) is a plateau in the north and east of Nilgiri District in the Nilgiri Hills of Tamil Nadu, South India. It covers the 778.8 square kilometres (300.7 sq mi) portion of the Moyar River drainage basin on the northern slopes of the Nilgiri Hills, south of the Moyar River.
It is an important link between several contiguous protected areas forming the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, the largest protected forest area in India. This area supports over 6,300 elephants,[4] that represents the largest single population of elephants and tigers in India.

The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, which includes Sigur Plateau and the Nilgiri Hills, is part of the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves. The Western Ghats, the Nilgiri Sub-Cluster (more than 6,000 square kilometres (2,316.6 sq mi)), including all of Mudumalai National Park and the reserve forests of the Sigur Plateau, is under consideration by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for selection as a World Heritage Site. A proposal has been initiated to notify Sigur and adjoining forest areas as a wildlife sanctuary for Vultures.

HISTORY

On August 26, 2010, Jairam Ramesh the Indian Minister of State for Environment and Forests asked Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M Karunanidhi for the Tamil Nadu government to favourably consider a proposal from his ministry to declare the Sigur Plateau in the Nilgiris as a buffer zone of the Mudumalai National Park.
In 1954, the tiger was still classified as vermin in the Nilgiri Hills. As agriculture expanded and tiger habitat shrank, Tamil Nadu stopped all tiger hunting in the Sigur reserve in 1965.
In 1954, a young man-eating male Bengal tiger named the "Tiger of Segur" killed 5 people between Sigur and Anaikatty villages in the Sigur Plateau.
In May 1859, a small monthly sanction was granted by the Government for the conservation and working of Sigur Forest. With only a small a sum to commence with, it was some time before any wood could be collected. However, the means for working the forest on a larger scale were obtained by an early sale of sandal wood, However by this time the Conservator of Forests of Madras Presidency, Dr. Hugh Cleghorn stated that "This forest has been much exhausted by a succession of unscrupulous contractors, and there is very little teak or Bombay Blackwood (Rosewood) at present fit for felling. It is important that the forest should be allowed to recover, as it is the main source of supply to Utakamund for house-building purposes.
In the late 1700s, Tipu Sultan maintained a fort and trading route between the Kingdom of Mysore and Travancore, along the Moyar River here.

Geography

The five major streams in the Sigur plateau are the Moyar River, the Sigur River, the Avarahalla River, the Kedarhalla River and the Gundattihalla River, which originate in the Nilgiris plateau.The Sigur Plateau is an important watershed area for the Cauvery River and its ecological health is important to the many people dependent on the Cauvery.The Sigur Ghat Road (SH 67) crosses the Sigur Plateau for 33 kilometres (20.5 mi) from Ooty to Theppakadu
Climate


Flora and fauna

There are several major threats to the Sigur area caused mostly by expanding human population. These are cattle grazing, coffee and tea plantations and other crops cultivation, private tourist resorts, Invasive weeds, fuel wood collection, non-timber forest products (NTFP) collection, legal status of the corridor, and vehicular traffic particularly during night hours. An estimated 1,801 tons of firewood are collected from the Sigur Plateau annually.Weed species, especially Lantana camara but also Parthenium, Stachytarpheta indica, Dodonaea viscosa, Euphorbia antiquorum, and Opuntia dillennii are widely distributed and are invading and degrading the quality of forage on the plateau.The major impact of private resorts on the corridor areas are: fragmentation and destruction of habitats due to invasion of unpalatable weeds, loss of forest connectivity between habitats due new buildings construction and agriculture fields, including installation of barbed wire and electric fences, increasing rate of dependence by local communities on natural resources for fuel wood collection, cattle grazing, fresh water supply and waste disposal.[30] Having said that though, there are private resorts that are also doing their bit in countering this threat and promoting eco-tourism in the region.