Following incidents of tiger attacks at Pilibhit district’s Deoria range in western Uttar Pradesh, the Forest department has issued instructions to enforce the Trespass Act, 1963 to ensure that no villagers enter the reserved forest area. According to the act, if anyone enters the reserved area, the person will be arrested.
The decision was taken following reports of six people being killed in tiger attacks between May 3 and August 10. According to Forest officials, since all the attacks happened inside the forest area and there is no evidence that tigers have entered the villages, it has been decided to strictly implement the act.
“This is not a protected area but a reserved forest land and we can take legal action against people trying to enter. We have been warning the villagers but to no avail. So, we are forced to take strict action. We will book people who are caught by our staff trying to enter forest area,” said Divisional Forest Officer V K Singh.
On August 10, a 55-year-old woman’s semi-eaten body was found inside the Deoria forest range — spread over 700 acres. Though the area has been marked for Tiger Census 2010, this was the first time that there was evidence regarding the presence of big cats in the area.
“This is for the first time that we have seen incidents of tiger attacks in the area. It seems that a young tiger or a group of tigers are trying to expand their territory. So far, the tiger has not come towards the human habitat but is attacking people who are entering its territory,” said Singh. All these incidents have been reported 3 km to 5 km inside the forest area. Perhaps the victims had gone to collect wood or cut grass, he added.
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