Baripada: Interstate traders and poachers are reportedly behind the increasing incidents of wildlife poaching in the Similipal wildlife sanctuary in the Mayurbhanj district. They are reportedly calling the shots as they lure the gullible tribals and forest dwellers living on the foothills of Similipal with money and use them as conduits to poach wild animals like Royal Bengal Tigers, leopards, tuskers and other animals inside the sanctuary.
In light of this scenario, forest officials have never tried to find out where the guns come from and who all are providing guns to the poachers. Poachers are not even sparing reptiles like pangolins in the sanctuary. They are handing over guns to forest dwellers and providing them with training in wildlife poaching. The rampant and unabated poaching of wild animals has sparked fear of the extinction of wildlife from the sanctuary.
Sources said that the poachers are mostly using country-made guns to poach wild animals but the Forest Department has done little to curb such rampant poaching. The Forest officials often seize guns from poachers but fail to book them under Arms Act. Illegal possession of arms is a serious offence but the rule debars Forest Department to register cases under Arms Act. As a result, these outside traders spend money to get the poachers released from jail on bail and again engage them in poaching wild animals. The permission to get a gun license is given at the government level and the applicant has to pay hefty revenue to get the license.
However, this rule is not applicable in the case of poachers. The Forest officials are often nabbing poachers during patrolling and registering cases against them. This only emboldens them to get involved in poaching once they are released from jail on bail. A former honorary wildlife warden Sanjukta Basa said that the arrested poachers could be punished legally if the Forest Department handovers the seized guns to police personnel for further probe. The Similipal wildlife sanctuary has turned into a safe haven for outside traders and poachers with forest officials failing to act tough against them.
Reports said that around eight to 10 country gun manufacturing units are functioning in a clandestine manner on the foothills of Similipal but neither the forest officials nor the police personnel have any clue about it. Even there are some gun manufacturing units in and around this town and in Udala. The forest officials except for registering cases under Wildlife Act and conducting probes have done nothing much to reach the root of poaching and lay their hand on the mastermind. Former honorary wildlife warden Bhanumitra Achrya said that Similipal will cease to exist as a wildlife sanctuary if the Forest Department fails to shut these gun manufacturing units down and does not take stringent action against the wildlife smugglers and traders.