DALMA

Introduction

The Sanctuary gets it's name from the "Dalma mai" a local goddess who is revered and worshipped by the local people and the people of adjoining villages of Dalma. The sanctuary lies on the Chottanagpur Plateau of Jharkhand, contiguous with the steel city Jamshedpur. The river Swarnrekha meandering along with the sanctuary area. The sanctuary covers almost 193 sq. Km. of forest area.

The sanctuary was notified as Dalma Wildlife sanctuary by erstwhile government of Bihar under section 18(1) on wildlife (protection) Act, 1972 vide Gazette notification number S.O. 1221, dated the 17th July, 1976.  The forests of Dalma come under the category "Dry peninsular sal" and "Northern dry mixed deciduous Forest". Dalma wildlife sanctuary is situated around the Dalma hills. Dalma wildlife sanctuary is a much larger area starting from Chandil to 40 km east. It contains significant population of Indian elephants.

Flora & Fauna

The sanctuary has very rich floral diversity. Medicinal plants likes Ananatmula, Satawari, Sarpgandha etc. are abundant in the sanctuary. Various types of trees ,climbers, herbs shrubs & orchids are found here. The sanctuary is known for its elephants, The sanctuary has sizeable population of elephants. Beside elephants the sanctuary has considerable population of other wildlife like barking deer, wild boar, giant squirrel sloth bear etc. The sanctuary is also home to many species of birds as well as butterflies. The wildlife sanctuary has elephants, barking deer, sloth bear and porcupines as the main inhabitants. Famous for holding many elephants and other animals, which come downhill during the monsoons and winter and enter nearby villages and towns of Jharkhand and West Bengal. This occasionally leads to conflicts between man and elephants. Beside elephants there are Indian giant squirrel, sloth bear, barking deer, wild boar, porcupine, mouse deer, pangolin and mongooses in the sanctuary. Commonly seen birds in the sanctuary are the falcons, golden oriole, Indian tree pie, paradise fly catchers, grey hornbills, Indian peafowl, different varieties of kingfishers, herons, egrets, mynas, pigeons, racket tailed drongo, magpie robins etc.

How to reach

The sanctuary is well connected by road and railway network. It is situated nearly 120 km away from Ranchi and 270 Km from Kolkata. The sanctuary lies along the NH-33 on its northern flank. The steel city Jamshedpur is situated 25 Km away from the main entry point from the sanctuary.

Tourist Accomodation Facilities

The sanctuary has a forest rest house at Pindrabera amidst the serene forests with the wild ambience. People can book forest cottages situated in the rest house premises.

Surrounding public Attraction Point

Dimna Lake & Chandil Dam situated in the vicinity of Dalma sanctuary are paradise of bird watchers. Many migratory birds flock to the lakes in the winter seasons. Jublee parks another tourist destination situated near the sanctuary is almost 20 Km away.

Contact

People can communicate with the officials through the e-mail:- dfo-dirpe[at]gov[dot]in, deffdjsr[at]gmail[dot]com, 
Tele No. 0657-2233041(0).
The people can also visit the office of 
DCF & FD, Elephant Project,
Near the Sai Temple, Van Bhawan
 Sonari, Jamshedpur, 831011.