Foresters fire on illegal fishermen at Totladoh, 16 Hurt

Soumittra S Bose & Vijay Pinjarkar, TNN | Jan 9, 2012, 03.52AM IST NAGPUR: Some 16 fishermen fishing illegally in Totladoh reservoir inside Pench tiger reserve were injured when forest guards opened fire on them with 12-bore shotguns on Saturday evening. The forest guards, patrolling the dam on Pench river, claimed they opened fire in self-defence after the fishermen surrounded their boat in mid-reservoir and started attacking them after being challenged. A magisterial enquiry was instituted by the district collector into the matter later. The incident is latest in the ongoing tussle between the foresters and local fishermen dating back since the time the forest around reservoir was declared tiger reserve and fishing prohibited in it. "A group of 12 forest staffers were zeroing in on a fishing boat when they were attacked by fishermen in other boats. Within no time, several boats surrounded our men. There were around 50 fishermen and our men were outnumbered. The forest staff retreated as it was growing dark after they managed to stave off attack on themselves," said AK Saxena, additional principal chief conservator of forests (APCCF), wildlife, Nagpur. A group of 20 fishermen, resident of Rayyatwadi in New Deolapar, had sneaked into the prohibited zone for fishing at 5 pm on Saturday and was just preparing to lay their underwater nets when a foresters boat with eight gunmen approached them. According to Feroze Pathan, one of the injured fishermen, the forest guards had continued firing on them for almost an hour. "We somehow managed to crawl back into the forest for cover and stayed there for seven hours writhing in pain. At midnight we started back for our home around 20 kms away. We walked four to five hours in injured condition and reached home," said Pathan. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Foresters-fire-on-illegal-fishermen-at-Totladoh-16-Hurt/articleshow/11418733.cms