Bhubaneswar: Salia Sahi, considered the city’s largest slum, serves as a hideout for poachers who hunt animals in Chandaka wildlife sanctuary, authorities said. The sanctuary, located on the outskirts of the capital city, has five villages in its core area, which harbour poachers as well as criminals from Salia Sahi, they said.
The wildlife wing is waiting for the villagers to accord their voluntary consent to be relocated so that poaching can be stopped and the core area’s inviolate space is restored. As per the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) norms, there should be no human habitation in the core area of a sanctuary. The five villages — Nuakua, Dholakatha, Bentasahi, Pithakhia and Dahanigadia — are located in Chandaka’s core area. Chandaka authorities said the villagers have shown keenness to be relocated to a place of their choice outside the sanctuary’s boundary.
Sarat Behera, divisional forest officer, Chandaka, said there are reports of people with criminal antecedents taking shelter in villages in Chandaka and also poachers, after killing animals, hiding in Salia Sahi. “They have a strong sense of reciprocation and share a common bond. It makes it challenge for us to curb their activities. Mostly villagers, who are poachers, use snares to kill deer and wild boar,” said Behera.
He said many poachers were reformed and engaged in different activities in Chandaka to support their livelihood. “There are some poachers who never shun hunting. They are habitual offenders who have a strong bond with criminal elements in Salia Sahi. Often, they try to hoodwink the forest department, making the job to nab them difficult,” Behera added. This year, four cases of poaching were reported so far in Chandaka.
“If required, we try to seek help from the police. Otherwise, we make arrests using our own intelligence network and personnel. Because of strong protection measures, poaching has gone down. We have a total of 170 personnel in our anti-poaching squads,” Behera said.