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Even as tourists have occupied most of the forest rest houses and dak bungalows of the Forest Department to celebrate the New Year in the rich environment of Uttarakhand, the department has stepped up patrolling in order to prevent any incidents of poaching. Both officials and wildlife activists state that professional wildlife poachers prefer to generally avoid the New Year celebration period for poaching because the department increases its vigilance during this period. However, the chances of local residents and villagers poaching animals for meat increase during this time.
In addition to this, well-placed sources state that notorious poacher Bheema Bawaria, who was involved in poaching incidents in Bijnor area near the southern boundary of Corbett National Park, has been missing from his base in Gurgaon for the past one week. His present whereabouts are not known but it is suspected that he could be in the forests of Uttar Pradesh.
As in the past years, many of the nearly 200 forest rest houses, dak bungalows and log cabins in different parts of Uttarakhand have been booked by tourists keen to celebrate the advent of the New Year surrounded by wilderness. However the Forest Departm
ent has also stepped up its vigilance and patrolling to ensure that either visitors or poachers don’t kill or damage the fauna and flora of the State.
According to Corbett National Park deputy director CK Kavidayal, all rooms in the rest houses in different zones of Corbett are fully occupied. “Every year we increase patrolling in the months of December and January so it is unlikely that poachers will target wildlife during this period”, he added. Apart from the forest rest houses in Corbett, those in Rajaji National Park and other areas of the State are also occupied by tourists.
Wildlife Protection Society of India programme manager (New Delhi) Tito Joseph said, “We know some notorious poachers who are out of jail and are not afraid of the authorities or to kill wild animals. It is vital to be extra vigilant even though professional poachers don’t target prominent protected areas during such periods when they know the department has increased patrolling”, he stressed.
In addition to this, well-placed sources state that notorious poacher Bheema Bawaria, who was involved in poaching incidents in Bijnor area near the southern boundary of Corbett National Park, has been missing from his base in Gurgaon for the past one week. His present whereabouts are not known but it is suspected that he could be in the forests of Uttar Pradesh.
As in the past years, many of the nearly 200 forest rest houses, dak bungalows and log cabins in different parts of Uttarakhand have been booked by tourists keen to celebrate the advent of the New Year surrounded by wilderness. However the Forest Departm
ent has also stepped up its vigilance and patrolling to ensure that either visitors or poachers don’t kill or damage the fauna and flora of the State.
According to Corbett National Park deputy director CK Kavidayal, all rooms in the rest houses in different zones of Corbett are fully occupied. “Every year we increase patrolling in the months of December and January so it is unlikely that poachers will target wildlife during this period”, he added. Apart from the forest rest houses in Corbett, those in Rajaji National Park and other areas of the State are also occupied by tourists.
Wildlife Protection Society of India programme manager (New Delhi) Tito Joseph said, “We know some notorious poachers who are out of jail and are not afraid of the authorities or to kill wild animals. It is vital to be extra vigilant even though professional poachers don’t target prominent protected areas during such periods when they know the department has increased patrolling”, he stressed.
