Odisha: Special task force to protect Similipal Tiger Reserve

The task force has been assigned the key responsibilities of collecting intelligence, identifying people holding illegal arms and ammunition and de-weaponing fringe/buffer villages of the tiger reserve and to prepare a database.

To counter any armed poachers inside the STR, the task force now can deploy forest and police personnel for regular patrolling and train the forest personnel with firearms at susceptible anti-poaching camps.

The terms of reference of the JTF have been fixed in line with the recommendations of central team that recently visited the STR in view of the killing of two forest field staff.

The killings left the forest department shaken as the field staff had refused to join the patrolling duty as part of a symbolic protest. They resumed duty only after getting an assurance by the Odisha government to consider their demands which included strengthening protection measures.

The state government had recently granted immunity to forest personnel under Section 197 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) for use of firearms for self-defence while dealing with poachers and in reserve forest areas.

The Indian Express recently visited the STR in view of the killings of two staff, which had turned the spotlight on a host of problems faced by STR authorities — from shortage of staff to the lack of infrastructure and logistic support for the frontline forest workforce.

As many as 192 of total 439 sanctioned posts are lying vacant. To address this manpower shortage, STR authorities have engaged protection assistants (PAs) from among the local youths as unskilled workers.

Similipal is Asia’s second largest biosphere and the country’s only habitat in the wild that has the melanistic royal Bengal tigers. The recently-released All India Tiger Estimation showed a doubling in the number of tigers at the STR.