Gania: Poachers have a field day in this forest range in Nayagarh district with the wild animals sneaking into human settlement in search of water.
Forest officials conduct raids but they happen only when they are informed by nearby villagers, a report said.
For instance, on being informed by locals, officials led by forester Sumitra Mishra Friday evening arrested five persons of Goudatumandi village here under Nayagarh forest division red-handed when they were sharing the venison among themselves after killing a male deer.
The accused were identified as Chandrashekhar Behera (70), Mandar Nayak (75), Ishwar Nayak (55), Chandramani Nayak (40) and Ghana Nayak (85). However, five others including a schoolteacher managed to escape during the raid, officials admitted.
Gania ranger along with a team of police personnel raided the village again Saturday morning and seized the hide and head of the dead deer.
Police registered a case under relevant sections of Wildlife Protection Act and produced the accused in court.
However, locals raised questions over the efficiency of the forest officials as the recent raids were conducted only after they got information from the villagers.
It was alleged that the poachers continue to kill wild animals confidently in the forests under Gania range under the very nose of forest officials and smuggle the meat to Narasinghpur, Badamba, Athagarh in Cuttack district and Khandapada in Nayagarh district.
This apart, the animals get killed when they sneak into human habitations in search of water. Though the government spends crores of rupees to excavate ponds inside forests, such projects are not being implemented properly and the water bodies dry up ahead of summer.
This forces these animals to head towards human habitations, it was learnt.
Similarly, the hunters place live electric wire on Manibhadra hill to poach animals while the beat house at Dankarisahi near the hill is often found closed, locals said and demanded attention of the forest department for the safety of animals. PNN