Baripada: Forest Department has intensified wildlife protection measures across the Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) in view of the monsoon season by establishing 214 anti-poaching camps and deploying around 1,000 trained protection personnel, a senior official said Saturday.
Similipal Tiger Reserve Field Director and Regional Chief Conservator of Forests (RCCF) Prakash Chandra Gogineni said the annual monsoon initiative is aimed at preventing poaching and illegal entry into the 2,750-sq km reserve while ensuring continuous surveillance of wildlife habitats.
The protection network of 25 special camps includes 12 Special Tiger Protection Force (STPF) camps strategically located in remote and vulnerable areas of the reserve. STPF personnel and other forest staff are conducting round-the-clock patrols, with special emphasis on night operations to deter poachers and monitor wildlife movement.
The forest Department is also organising health camps for personnel stationed inside the reserve. Medical teams are screening and treating staff for fungal infections, fever, cold and malaria, with measures put in place to safeguard their health during the monsoon.
Gogineni said patrol teams have been equipped with anti-leech boots, raincoats, torches, safe drinking water, emergency medicines and four-wheel-drive vehicles. Teams have been directed to patrol at least 100 designated locations daily, with their movements monitored through a dedicated mobile application.
In previous years, anti-poaching patrols were hampered by damaged roads, inadequate vehicles and poor communication infrastructure. Forest officials say those shortcomings have largely been addressed through increased manpower, improved road connectivity, modern communication systems and AI-enabled camera surveillance, significantly strengthening security across the Similipal landscape.
The enhanced measures are expected to play a key role in preventing poaching during the monsoon season and protecting tigers and other wildlife. However, despite these initiatives, the continued ability of poachers to infiltrate the reserve and kill tigers has raised serious concerns over the effectiveness of enforcement.
Poachers remain active in villages adjoining Similipal, where they have repeatedly managed to hunt wild animals. Although forest officials have seized country-made firearms and arrested several suspects, who have been produced before courts, conservationists say stronger enforcement is needed.
Environmentalist Sanjukta Basha said coordinated operations by the police and the Forest Department to identify and seize illegal firearms at the source could substantially curb poaching and improve wildlife protection in and around the reserve.