Wild boar attacks Odisha villager, forest staff face the music
Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Kendrapara, Feb 18:
Four forest officials were roughed up by irate villagers today when the former were on a mission to ward off a wild boar, which had created a menace at Chakroda village near Odisha’s Kendrapara town.
The injured officials have been identified as Ashok Jena (forest range officer), Dillip Champatiray (deputy forest range officer), Pradeep Bhuyan (forester) and Umesh Barik (forester).
The wild boar had killed a villager and injured at least six persons in an agriculture field in Hatabanapur village under Derabish police station limits on February 13.
The team of forest officials was trying to catch hold of the wild animal this morning when it attacked a villager and left him injured. On seeing the seriously injured man, the villagers lost their cool and pounced on the forest officials.
The incensed villagers also staged a road blockade near Balia junction bringing vehicular movement on the Cuttack-Chandbali state highway to a standstill.
Notably, there have been reports of increasing number of boar attack cases in Hatabanapur, Baspur and Chakroda villages, which has fuelled anger amongst the villagers.
“The villagers assaulted our officials and also damaged the vehicle after the wild boar injured one of the villagers,” a forest official said.
“Capturing the animal with the help of net is quite a task. Getting hold of the animal with tranquilising shots is the only way out,” the official added.
The forest department was not in favour of killing the boar despite it attacking several people and killing one as it would be an offence under wildlife law, the official said.
Meanwhile, the forest department is in a fix over how to drive away the wild boar as it might sneak into Kendrapara town spelling further trouble for the department.
Wildlife Protection Act Contains certain provisions, which are anti-human. If a wild animal kills or injures people severely, what logic is there to take killing of that animal as a cognizable offence as per law? Is human life less precious than a wild animal’s life? No,no,no…100 times “No”. Thus,the reaction of villagers in this case is quite natural. The Union Govt. should take immediate steps to amend the said law suitably,allowing Forest officials to kill the wild animals in cases where human life is endangered and there is no alternative way to prevent it.