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31 tigers poached in Betla?: The Pioneer
Palamau, Auh 17: Hunters have framed a fearful cemetery in the forests of Betla where statistics tell a chilling tale of fearless poaching of the jungle lord. The first among nine tiger reserves to have been brought under `Project Tiger` in 1973, Betla boasted of 43 tigers in 1974, 44 in 1993 and only one in 2003.
Palamau, Auh 17: Hunters have framed a fearful cemetery in the forests of Betla where statistics tell a chilling tale of fearless poaching of the jungle lord. The first among nine tiger reserves to have been brought under "Project Tiger" in 1973, Betla boasted of 43 tigers in 1974, 44 in 1993 and only one in 2003.
The officer of Project Tiger at Betla says the last tiger census in 2001 recorded a tiger population of 32.
Most of the poaching has taken place in the past four years and private admissions of high-ups in the Forest department as well as the locals belie stern official denials of the crime.
Imamuddin, a forest guide who accompanied this reporter on a tour of the forest, said the last recorded sighting of the lone tigress in the forest was in May 2003. Mahaut Prakash saw the tigress last and "gave the information to forest officials," he says. A ranger, not willing to be named, seconded Prakash's revelation and said tigers had been hunted for skin, claws and entrails, some of which had made their way through the Jharkhand-Nepal route to China. The three-four tigers who shifted to adjoining Mahudhar forest, he said, had escaped poachers.
Officials claim that the Bihar days were better. Transition to a new State, they assert, has seen a compounding of chaos, which the forest mafia has exploited to the hilt. Local PWD engineer P Singh says Government officials rarely enter the forests on twin counts: Naxalites and the forest mafia. However, State Forest Minister Jamuna Singh stoutly refutes that the tiger population has dwindled. "There are 42 tigers in Jharkhand and most of them are in Palamau sanctuary," he says. Though Betla was once touted as India's foremost tiger sanctuary, with a lush tropical forest and panthers, cheetal, sloth and wild bear, the claims seem empty now. Naxalites and poachers have sent lawlessness beyond repair. If forest officials are to be believed only a few deer, peacocks and langurs are left here now.
The closed shops and eateries at the sanctuary entrance bear witness to this stark fact. A blast which killed 14 CRPF jawans four months ago has stopped the occasional tourist trickle. The forest round brings another harsh reality to the fore - a vast expanse of tree stumps which screams of felling. "When there are no forests, where can the animals exist?" asks a ranger pertinently.
Imamuddin, a forest guide who accompanied this reporter on a tour of the forest, said the last recorded sighting of the lone tigress in the forest was in May 2003. Mahaut Prakash saw the tigress last and "gave the information to forest officials," he says. A ranger, not willing to be named, seconded Prakash's revelation and said tigers had been hunted for skin, claws and entrails, some of which had made their way through the Jharkhand-Nepal route to China. The three-four tigers who shifted to adjoining Mahudhar forest, he said, had escaped poachers.
Officials claim that the Bihar days were better. Transition to a new State, they assert, has seen a compounding of chaos, which the forest mafia has exploited to the hilt. Local PWD engineer P Singh says Government officials rarely enter the forests on twin counts: Naxalites and the forest mafia. However, State Forest Minister Jamuna Singh stoutly refutes that the tiger population has dwindled. "There are 42 tigers in Jharkhand and most of them are in Palamau sanctuary," he says. Though Betla was once touted as India's foremost tiger sanctuary, with a lush tropical forest and panthers, cheetal, sloth and wild bear, the claims seem empty now. Naxalites and poachers have sent lawlessness beyond repair. If forest officials are to be believed only a few deer, peacocks and langurs are left here now.
The closed shops and eateries at the sanctuary entrance bear witness to this stark fact. A blast which killed 14 CRPF jawans four months ago has stopped the occasional tourist trickle. The forest round brings another harsh reality to the fore - a vast expanse of tree stumps which screams of felling. "When there are no forests, where can the animals exist?" asks a ranger pertinently.