Bhubaneswar: One kilometre into Debrigarh wildlife sanctuary and one kilometre outside of it has been declared a shock-free and zero electrocution zone, with villagers residing in 68 villages taking a pledge. Sanctuary authorities said several animals were killed due to electrocution traps laid by villagers to kill animals to save themselves and their farmlands as they primarily depend upon agriculture-related work for livelihood.
The shock-free zone covers 100 km of continuous boundary on the west side of Debrigarh flanked by villages. This area is prone to traps, snares, and electric hooking for poaching of wild animals. Sometimes 500-metre-long wires have been recovered from the sanctuary boundary. “To ensure that no trap or snare is laid, we held meetings with villagers, and they took a pledge to end the practice. Our patrolling units are alert along this boundary to maintain the zero electrocution and shock-free zone,” said Anshu Pragyan Das, divisional forest officer, Hirakud wildlife division.
She added that since there is not a single village located inside the sanctuary after their relocation for an inviolate space, human-animal conflict was noticed along this 100-km border in the west of Debrigarh. Officials said when one animal in a herd, such as sambar, deer, or any other prey, falls into a trap, snare, or electric hook, it also gives stress to other animals moving in that herd. Zero poaching will increase the animal population by 20 to 30 per cent in the sanctuary.
Villages bordering Debrigarh along the western side are fully dependent on the sanctuary for their daily activities. “They have now joined hands with the forest department to make this critical area shock-free,” the senior officer further said. Sources said several poaching incidents of Schedule-1 species, including the Royal Bengal Tiger and leopards, in the last decade were recorded along this zone due to electrocution. Debrigarh authorities use metal detectors and live wire detectors. As many as 12 patrolling teams (72 squads) are engaged for this purpose, officials said.