E-Paper
4 dead in tiger attacks since March 31 in Dudhwa
Shiv Kumar, 50, was killed in an alleged big cat attack in the Manjhra forest area of the Dudhwa buffer zone on Thursday night
Dudhwa was witnessing a rise in human-animal conflicts, which has caused at least four human casualties since March 31, officials said.
In the latest incident, Shiv Kumar, 50, of Audhaiya village under Tikonia Jotwali limits was killed in an alleged big cat attack in the Manjhra forest area of the Dudhwa buffer zone on Thursday night. Kumar, a farmer, had gone to the forest to collect fodder that evening. His body was found the next morning by locals.
Similarly, a 10-year-old boy was mauled to death by a tiger in the Katarniaghat forest range of the Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary (KWS), which is a part of the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve, in Bahraich on Thursday evening.
Deputy director of the Dudhwa buffer zone Sundaresh said the cause of Shiv Kumar’s death was yet to be ascertained.
Angered due to the alleged official apathy, locals took to the streets and staged a sit-in on the Gajiapur Crossing with the deceased’s body.
The Nighasan sub-divisional magistrate, accompanied by police officials and Sundaresh, rushed to the spot to pacify the agitators. However, the locals, who demanded fencing of the forest area, compensation for the victim’s family and tigers’ capture, reportedly manhandled the officials.
After hours of negotiation, the villagers agreed to hand over the body for a postmortem examination.
Recent human casualties in tiger attacks in Dudhwa
June 8-A 10-year-old boy in Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary; May 29-Jagdish, 50, of Kattauha; April 18-Harmesh (30) of Naya Pind village; March 31- Pritam Singh, 45, of Babapurwa
