Nagpur Forest Department is on high alert after a tiger attack killed a woman three days ago in Ramtek taluka. Amid rising tensions in the villages after the incident, the Forest Department is actively trying to capture the predator. Fed-up of repeated tiger attacks in Ramtek taluka in the last few months, anguished villagers had launched an attack on forest staff and injured some forest guards seriously after the incident that took place last Tuesday. Tensions prevailed after a tiger killed Nita Buddhu Kumbhare (65). Kumbhare, a resident of Zinjiriya village, tragically lost her life in a tiger attack when she was working in agriculture land situated near the forest. The incident took place in Paoni UC Range of Pench Tiger Reserve (PTR).

 

The panic and anguish among villagers are on high after the incident. Keeping the sentiments of villagers in mind, the Forest Department has deployed a force of 100-150 personnel including Special Tiger Protection Force (STPF) and a company of State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) to capture the tiger and maintain peace. “We have installed camera traps, cages, and other essential machinery to capture the elusive tiger. We have got the permission from Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) to capture the tiger,” Dr Prabhu Nath Shukla, Deputy Director, Pench Tiger Reserve (PTR) told ‘The Hitavada’. According to Deputy Director, the Forest Department located the presence of another tiger apart from the elusive one. “Another tiger killed a cattle near the same area where the woman was killed. Our teams are continuously monitoring and conducting round-the-clock patrolling of the forest area to get details about the elusive tiger as well as the new one,” said Dr Shukla. The Forest Department is planning to use their elephants for tiger rescue and deep forest patrolling for first time after bringing them to Pench from Karnataka. “We have shifted both our elephants near the incident site. Once we identify the elusive tiger in the forest area, we will deploy our elephants for the rescue work,” said Dr Shukla. Another tiger in Parsheoni taluka is also venturing near human settlements for last many days.

 

Yesterday, this tiger also injured a man and killed some cattle. Therefore, another forest team is conducting patrolling in Parsheoni taluka in search of the another tiger. “The tension and panic among villagers we are continuously talking with them to settle down the issue. The villagers are demanding capture of the elusive tiger and we are putting efforts to capture the tiger,” said Dr Shukla. When asked about the condition of the injured forest guards, Dr Shukla said, “They are under treatment. We are waiting for the medical report of all injured guards and thereafter we will register an FIR against the villagers who beat our guards and vandalised forest vehicles on Wednesday.”