Ranthambhore is one of India’s most celebrated tiger reserves — a landscape where ancient forests, historic ruins, and extraordinary wildlife draw thousands of visitors every year. Yet this very popularity comes at a cost. The roads leading into the reserve, particularly the busy Ranthambhore Road connecting Sawai Madhopur town to the national park, have long been burdened by mounting quantities of solid waste: plastic packaging, single-use containers, food waste, and roadside dumping by vehicles and vendors alike.

For a landscape that is home to tigers, leopards, sloth bears, and hundreds of species of birds and reptiles, unchecked waste is not merely an aesthetic problem — it is an ecological one. Animals come into contact with plastic and non-biodegradable refuse. Waterways and drainage channels carry waste deeper into buffer and core zones. The first impression that visitors receive as they approach one of India’s most iconic wildlife destinations is, far too often, one of litter and neglect.

Tiger Watch has worked in and around Ranthambhore for over two decades, addressing threats to wildlife and supporting the communities that share this landscape. The Clean Ranthambhore Initiative is a natural extension of that commitment — recognising that the health of an ecosystem begins at its edges, and that a cleaner road is a safer road for wildlife and people alike.

Rationale

The 5 km stretch of Ranthambhore Road — from the National Park Entry Gate to Saras Dairy — sits at the critical interface between the town of Sawai Madhopur and the protected area. Every safari vehicle, tourist bus, local commuter, and supply truck passes through this corridor. Without a sustained, organised mechanism for waste collection and disposal, litter accumulates rapidly and visibly.

Several factors make this stretch particularly vulnerable:

1. High footfall and vehicle movement associated with tourism, especially during peak safari seasons
2. Absence of a regular municipal waste collection mechanism along this ecologically sensitive road
3. Proximity to the forest boundary, meaning waste can migrate into wildlife habitat through wind, runoff, and animal movement
4. Wildlife risk, as animals — from birds and reptiles to larger mammals — can ingest or become entangled in plastic waste in the buffer zone

Beyond ecology, there is a question of dignity. Ranthambhore deserves to be experienced as the magnificent landscape it is — not through a windshield smeared with the memory of roadside garbage. A clean approach road signals respect: for the forest, for the wildlife within it, and for the communities who call this place home.

The Initiative

Phase One — Community-Led Manual Cleaning

The Clean Ranthambhore Initiative began on 5 December, when Tiger Watch mobilised 20 local women to undertake manual cleaning along Ranthambhore Road. Over a period of just 20 days, this dedicated team collected 4,750 kg of waste from the 5 km stretch. The collected waste was systematically segregated with support from the Rajasthan Forest Department, ensuring responsible handling and disposal.

This first phase demonstrated both the scale of the problem and the power of community participation in solving it.

Phase Two — Dedicated Collection Vehicle

The initiative entered its second and sustained phase with the formal inauguration of a dedicated garbage collection vehicle, flagged off from the Collectorate, Sawai Madhopur, by Sh. Gaurav Budania, Chief Executive Officer, District Development Council, and Dr. Dharmendra Khandal.

The vehicle now carries out regular waste collection and disposal along both sides of Ranthambhore Road across the same 5 km corridor — establishing a reliable, ongoing mechanism for keeping this stretch clean.

Livelihoods at the Heart of Conservation

The initiative is designed not only to clean a road, but to create meaningful, dignified employment within the local community. Two women staff members and one vehicle driver have been appointed for daily waste collection and safe disposal — embedding livelihoods into the structure of conservation work.

Scope

“Clean Ranthambhore Initiative is a step toward keeping Ranthambhore clean, dignified, and environmentally responsible — for wildlife, local communities, and visitors alike”