New unit to protect tigers in Sohelwa wildlife sanctuary

SHRAVASTI: The forest department has decided to entrust the responsibility of protection and conservation of wildlife to a society besides the regular departmental staff and security guards. For this, work on forming a Tiger Protection Society has started at Sohelwa Wildlife Sanctuary which would be active in all the seven ranges of the sanctuary from January. Besides patrol and physical security, armed personnel of this society, comprising former servicemen and PRD jawans, would also gather intelligence input and pass it on to the forest officials.

The forest department wants to maintain vigil for the rare species of the wildlife through the society so that it could have the information of all the activities of the wildlife and their breeding habits. Not only this, the society would also keep an eye on the smuggling of organs of wild animals and apply a check on their killings in 120sq meter Sohelwa forest that spreads in three districts of Devipatan division -- Gonda, Balrampur and Shravasti.

According to forest officials, only 13 tigers are let in the sanctuary according to a counting done in 2010. Moreover, lives of these 13 tigers is also threatened by poachers. In such a situation, the state government has chalked out multi-level security plan for the tigers under the Tiiger Protection Society.

Conservator of forests (Wildlife), Devipatan division, R S Mishra told TOI that "the Tiger Protection Society has to be constituted for the protection of this endangered specie at Sohelwa wildlife division. For this purpose, the wildlife sanctuary has received a fund of Rs 10 lakh from the government. According to the officer, the work of the constitution of the society has started at the departmental level.

He added that once the society is active, the tigers would get three-layered protection: Firstly, from the regular staff, secondly, security guards would be posted beat-wise in all the ranges of the forest, and thirdly, the society would make all efforts in this connection.

Retired armymen and Prantiya Rakshak Dal (PRD) personnel would be given preference in the society. Forest department officials said that these personnel, who would be armed, would be active in every beat of the forest and provide protection to the entire forest area with the help of vehicles and weapons. They would also update the top forest officials about each and every activity in the forest.

The formation of the Tiger Protection Society would strengthen the internal information system of the forest department also educate those living in villages in adjoining villages. The forest department would also deploy an informer in every village who would keep the forest officials updated about all relevant activities.