Anini: In a massive joint operation led by the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), SRO, Guwahati, along with the forest departments of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam have arrested a Tiger poacher from the Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary in Arunachal’s Anini.
The team also recovered Tiger’s skin, other body parts as well as weapons from his possession.
On February 24, a team of officers and forest personnel seized one Royal Bengal Tiger skin approximately 2.15m X 1.45m in size, four Tiger canines, one tiger skull with teeth, 46 Tiger bones, and a vehicle.
One person detained during the operation has been identified as Jakir Husain, a resident of Nagaon in Assam.
According to the joint team, the main accused in the poaching case, who hail from Arunachal Pradesh, absconded by taking advantage of the thick forest after the team seized the vehicle. However, the team could recover a few documents of the accused from the vehicle.
During investigation, a photograph from the mobile phone of the accused revealed that the Tiger was actually poached in the Malinye area of the Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary in Anini with the support of the local poachers.
However, hunt is on to nab the other accused from Anini and Roing areas.
Meanwhile, the PCCF of Arunachal Pradesh has constituted a high-level committee under the chairmanship of the field director of Namdapha Tiger Reserve for further inquiry into the incident at Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary and to provide technical assistance to the investigation team.
Besides, directions have also been issued to the local authorities to be on high alert to nab the offenders and prevent such poaching incidents in Anini and other parts of Arunachal.
There has been information from various sources about the incidences of Tiger poaching in Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary. However, as the ‘Project Tiger Scheme’ is yet to be implemented in the sanctuary, the forest department doesn’t have dedicated staff for the protection of Tigers.
There are only around 4 to 5 frontline staff present in the entire sanctuary who are guarding a vast area of 4149 sq.km under adverse high-altitude terrain conditions.
In 2013-14, a preliminary rapid survey was carried out for the assessment of the Tiger population in Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in collaboration with the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), which confirmed the presence of Tiger population in Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary officially for the first time.
The study carried out by WII documented 11 tigers in an area of only around 336 km out of the total area of 4,149 sq.km of the sanctuary.
Further, as the sanctuary is spread over an area of 4,149 sq.km, it was assumed that the Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary and adjoining areas have hundreds of Tigers, which might be the largest Tiger population than any other Tiger Reserves in India.
After this study, the Department of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of Arunachal Pradesh has started the process of declaration of the Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary as Dibang Tiger Reserve in order to get the resources and technical assistance under the scheme Project Tiger.
Further, based on the study carried out by WII, the NTCA, during its 20th meeting which was chaired by the Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate change on April 9, 2022, at Pakke Tiger Reserve, had accorded approval for the declaration of Dibang Wildlife sanctuary as Dibang Tiger Reserve.
Due to various reasons, the Arunachal government is yet to submit its final concurrence to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for the final notification of Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary as Dibang Tiger Reserve. If declared, it will be one of the unique and largest Tiger Reserves in the country.
The implementation of the Project Tiger scheme will equip the Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary with all kinds of infrastructure, including manpower to prevent the poaching of Tigers and other animals.
Besides, it would also increase the potential for ecotourism and provide other benefits to the local community for livelihood.
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However, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), in December 2022, sanctioned three company battalions with 112 personnel of the Special Tiger Protection Force (STPF) to all the three existing Tiger Reserves of the State namely Pakke, Namdapha & Kamlang Tiger Reserves
“The approval of the State Government for the recruitment process is in progress,” said Nyilyang Tam, Chief Wildlife Warden, Arunachal Pradesh.
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People of my community should understand that money can be earned in many other ways rather than killing innocents lives.