Uttar Pradesh: Search operation intensifies in Bahraich to catch remaining two wolves
Sep 07, 2024
Bahraich (Uttar Pradesh) [India], September 7 : The search operation to hunt the remaining two "killer" wolves has intensified as the fear of attack is still persisting among the people of Bahraich, and to put a stop to wolf attacks, forest department team is working tirelessly.
According to forest sources, among the two wolves, one is a lone wolf that is attacking people.
Talking about the operation, General Manager of the Forest Department, Sanjay Pathak, told ANI, "We are working rigorously with our team with 24-hour monitoring of the affected areas."
He also said that instead of goats, now sheep will be placed near their habitat so the wolf can eat it because sheep is their preference, and once they get sheep, their behaviour of "man-eating" will definitely change and then won't be a problem for humans.
Pathak also added that in the garb of this operation, much misinformation is also propagated, and false news of wolf spotting hinders their search operation as forest personnel move to those particular areas to search for the wolves, and most of the time they turn out to be jackals.
Talking about rumours, Pathak also said that currently they were just giving warnings to rumour peddlers, but if such rumours don't stop, then they are considering asking district administration and police to take necessary action against such people as it hinders the operation.
He also said that snap cameras have also been installed near the habitat of wolves so that we can locate them and learn their position so we can rescue them.
Meanwhile, in the wake of wolf attacks, the Bahraich district administration has built shelter homes to protect the villagers from the menace. The district administration has converted the Panchayat Bhawan built earlier into a shelter home.
In Chandpaiya village of Mahasi tehsil of Bahraich, the administration has converted the Panchayat Bhawan into a shelter home so that the villagers who do not have homes or houses with wooden doors can take shelter in these protected accommodations.
Many people are living in these protected homes due to the fear of wolves and the dilapidated condition of their houses. The people living in the Panchayat Bhawan shelter home narrated their ordeal about the terror of wolves that had spread in the village as they were forced to leave their homes and live here.
The supervisor at the shelter home said, "Here arrangements have been made for the villagers to stay. 7 to 8 people come here to stay. Some people have been staying for the last five days and others for the last 10 days. As the number of people will keep increasing more arrangements will be provided. They are staying here due to fear and the poor condition of their homes. Here the MLA and panchayat officials are taking care. There is an adequate arrangement of drinking water and toilets."
So far four wolves have been caught. Drone visuals taken on Saturday morning at Harbaksh Purwa village showed a vast stretch of agricultural land under surveillance.
On Saturday morning, 2-3 kilometres away from Harbaksh Purwa, forest officials conducted a search operation to capture the wolf as it was located here on Friday night with the help of thermal drones.