After Bahraich’s man-eater wolves and Bijnor’s man-eater leopard, Uttar Pradesh is set for yet another man-animal conflict as a stray tiger is on the prowl in the state’s Lakhimpur Kheri district and has attacked and killed four people in 50 days.
Residents of Muda Assi village said trouble started a few weeks ago when a man-eater tiger strayed into their hamlet and started preying on the villagers.
“Our life has become miserable as we are forced to stay indoors. With no money, no work, and no wood, our life is no less than hell,” said Mohammed Murad, a local farmer.
40-year-old man killed
Murad said tiger attacks were common in other areas of Lakhimpur Kheri but their village had been safe until now. The killing of a 40-year-old man in the Maheshpur range of the South Kheri forest division, which was reported on September 11, was perhaps the most recent case to be reported in the area.
The incident took place in broad daylight when the 40-year-old, identified as Zakir, was working in his sugarcane field.
“Zakir Bhai was working in the field as usual, alongside other villagers. While working, we heard a faint shriek. It was so light that we assumed it was due to an insect bite or a scorpion sting, both common in the village. Since there was no further sound or suspicious activity, we thought everything was fine and continued working. However, when Zakir didn’t respond when called for lunch, we became concerned and rushed to the spot, only to find drops of blood and discover that he was missing,” said Manoj Kumar, a farmer who was working along with Zakir when the incident took place.
The villagers immediately launched a search operation. “After a few tense hours, we found the half-eaten body of Zakir lying in another field. It was later confirmed that a man-eater tiger had attacked and killed him,” added Kumar.
4 killings in 50 days
On August 27, another man, Ambarish Kumar, was allegedly killed by the same tiger in Imaliya village, said divisional forest officer (DFO), south Kheri, Sanjay Biswal. After Kumar’s killing, UP forest minister Arun Kumar had instructed forest officials to capture the tiger. On September 3, the minister visited Kheri and held a meeting with district and forest authorities, giving them permission to tranquilise the tiger and instructed forest officials to capture the man-eater tiger.
On August 3, a 12-year-old girl working in the fields with her grandmother was attacked by a tiger in Balarpur village, near the forest under Gola Range. A similar incident occurred on July 30 when 10-year-old Krishnakant was killed by a suspected tiger attack near Nakha Police Outpost, under Kheri Police Station.
Patrolling intensified, drones on the job
Forest officials confirmed that both the September 11 and August 27 killings in Lakhimpur Kheri were due to tiger attacks. In response, patrolling in the area was intensified from August 28. “We have increased the number of cages according to the tiger’s movement. A team of 24 people works in 12-hour shifts, with drones and around 24 cameras in place,” said the DFO of South Kheri.
Tranquilisation experts from Pilibhit Tiger Reserve and Kanpur have also been called in to ensure a smooth operation. Despite the tiger’s tendency to slip through the dense sugarcane crops, fresh attempts are being made to locate and capture it. Officials remain hopeful that the tiger will be caught soon.
Bahraich & Bijnor on alert
Other than the stray tiger attack in Lakhimpur Kheri, districts like Bahraich and Bijnor too are grappling with man-animal conflict.
Bahraich had witnessed 10 killings by man-eater wolves. Though UP forest department has captured five man-eater wolves, one is still giving sleepless nights to the villagers in Mahsi tehsil of Bahraich. Similarly, Bijnor’s Chandpur tehsil, which has around 85 villages and is home to more than 60,000 people, is facing leopard attacks. In the last one-and-a-half years, the area witnessed around 25 killings. Though UP Forest Department has installed around 107 cages and has launched a grueling operation to catch the man-eater leopards, it is yet to bring any respite to the locals who are forced to stay indoors. So far, the forest department has captured around 65 leopards, while 35 leopards have been killed either in man-animal conflicts or in road mishaps. The forest official says at least 500 leopards are still on the prowl.
Comments
0 comment