Pilibhit (Uttar Pradesh), May 17 (IANS): To deal with water shortage and the rising mercury, the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) officials are now reviving the water bodies in the forest area.

Naveen Khandelwal, divisional forest officer of PTR, said, "There are as many as 360 natural water bodies in PTR, of which, many are reservoirs. These water bodies are rain-fed. In summer, their water level goes down. Diesel-run pumps are being used to draw water from borewells along the banks to ensure abundant supply for the wildlife. The water replenishment work is being done on top priority."

The reserve also has 55 man-made waterholes. Of these, 25 are equipped with solar water pumping sets, which run round the clock. The remaining are being filled through big water tankers, he added.

For the field staff, a Nagpur-based non-government organisation has donated 150 water filters and 450 extra cartridges to Dudhwa Tiger Reserve (DTR) and 21 water purifiers along with 45 additional cartridges to PTR.

Both field director of DTR Sanjay Kumar Pathak and Khandelwal, confirmed this.

The water purifiers have been installed in protection huts and at the patrolling camps in PTR. Now, the forest watchers have access to filtered water, free of contamination.