There is no forest left on the Nepalese side. They have cut the forests a few decades back. It was always difficult for the forest staff to tackle the pressure mounted from Nepalese side in the past. Illicit felling and poaching use to be a great problem in these areas.
Divisional forest officer (Wildlife) RK Singh told TOI that deployment of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) on the border has certainly reduced the pressure but still there is a need of more manpower support to the forest department in order to face such problems effectively.
Divisional forest officer (Wildlife) RK Singh told TOI that deployment of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) on the border has certainly reduced the pressure but still there is a need of more manpower support to the forest department in order to face such problems effectively.
The DFO said that recently the Union government and National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) decided to deploy Tiger Protection Force (TPF) in all tiger reserves of the country. In the initial phase, it had been decided that ex-armymen and local villagers will be deployed for this purpose. "In Katarniaghat, we deployed the Tiger Protection Force in February of 2008 and the results are encouraging," he added.
He said, "We have got extra manpower which is available round-the-clock for patrolling and other preventive works. The guns, guards, vehicle and local youth have given an edge to the protection strategy in the division. Recently, in an encounter with Nepalese poachers, we could arrest four persons with a loaded gun. The forest guards and the Tiger Protection Force were patrolling in the border area and got information from a `mukhbir' that some poachers are planning to enter the forest area. The `gadabandi' was done and in an encounter, the poachers were apprehended."
He said that guns and guards matter a lot when it comes to protecting the dwindling wildlife. The deployment of TPF is helpful for the field staff, the DFO added.
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