Two base camps to check man-animal conflicts in Terai

The need for setting up these base camps was felt because of the recent incidents of tiger killings. Since July last,there have been around 10 incidents of man-animal conflicts in several districts of the state. The latest attack was reported from Rae Bareli on Saturday,when 8 people including a deputy ranger,were injured while trying to catch the leopard. The incident occurred in Lachai village under Saraini police station around 7.30 am,when the leopard attacked four locals,including a woman,who were working in the field. Hearing their cries,other villagers rushed to the spot. The injured were rushed to the district hospital. Meanwhile,a forest team also reached the spot. The animal attacked deputy ranger Ram Naresh Shukla,who was also rushed to the hospital. The villagers then started hitting the animal with lathis and stones and finally,killed the animal. Three more people were injured during the fight.

Giving details about the project,the principal chief conservator of Forests (wildlife) BK Patnaik said,“There has been a drastic increase in the number of man-animal conflicts,specially in this Terai region and hence,the need was felt to have a specialised team which could not only respond quickly in case of any incident,but also,have the expertise to deal with them. We have the experts from WWF,who will be training our staff that will be deployed at these base camps. We will also have primary medical aid available in these base camps. They are like the Quick Response and Action teams.”

Talking to The Sunday Express,Divisional Forest Officer VK Singh said,“The plans for setting up base camp have been finalised. Forest staff of ranger levels will be trained by WWF experts sometime in April. We aim to have the base camps in place by July,as monsoons are a tough season for conflict incidents.”