Wolf terror: How life may never be same again
As nine people, mostly children, have lost their lives to the wolf attacks and danger seems to lurk everywhere
Life was simple and mundane in 50-odd villages of the Mehsi forest range, in the Bahraich district. But that was 40-odd-days ago.
In just over a month, regular visits from officials in uniform and those in the bureaucracy, alarm systems keeping them awake at night, a whole list of dos and don’ts, have thrown the set ways of life here out of sync.
Just some 140 km north-east of Lucknow, regular wolf attacks have spread a reign of terror in the district located adjacent to the Ghaghra River basin. Noise from loudspeakers keeps them awake and alert at night, and even during the day, stepping out of the house without a stick or a rod is out of the question.
As nine people, mostly children, have lost their lives to the wolf attacks and danger seems to lurk everywhere, villagers have had to adapt to changes in routine. Children avoid going to school and at night, mothers tie a limb of theirs to their dupatta or saree.
Sound systems have been installed in Baderiya, Chandpaiya, Baghnauti, Shankarpur villages of the Mahsi Tehsil, warning people with loud calls of “jagte raho” (stay awake).
{{/usCountry}}Sound systems have been installed in Baderiya, Chandpaiya, Baghnauti, Shankarpur villages of the Mahsi Tehsil, warning people with loud calls of “jagte raho” (stay awake).
{{/usCountry}}Shanti Devi, a resident of Sisaiya village said, “God knows when we will be rid of this evil. During the day, noise of honking and drone cameras whirring overhead is heard, while at night, sounds of ‘Jagte Raho’ and police patrols do not allow us to sleep. Life has been restricted to the hut.”
{{/usCountry}}Shanti Devi, a resident of Sisaiya village said, “God knows when we will be rid of this evil. During the day, noise of honking and drone cameras whirring overhead is heard, while at night, sounds of ‘Jagte Raho’ and police patrols do not allow us to sleep. Life has been restricted to the hut.”
{{/usCountry}}Prasant Babu, headmaster of Primary School Chandpaiya said, “I have instructed the children to come to school only in groups.”
{{/usCountry}}Prasant Babu, headmaster of Primary School Chandpaiya said, “I have instructed the children to come to school only in groups.”
{{/usCountry}}Mohd Tahir, member, district panchayat and native of Chandpaiya, said wolves have killed three children in Makkapura, Nakua and Sisaiya village in the past one month. The wolves have also attacked and injured three children in his village too.
{{/usCountry}}Mohd Tahir, member, district panchayat and native of Chandpaiya, said wolves have killed three children in Makkapura, Nakua and Sisaiya village in the past one month. The wolves have also attacked and injured three children in his village too.
{{/usCountry}}Rakesh Kumar, a teacher in Kolaila village, said that there is an atmosphere of fear in the village. He said, “Many parents have sent their wards to their maternal grandmother or uncle’s house, away from Mehsi range. I myself have stopped travelling alone even on the motorcycle,” he said.
Arun Kumar, headmaster in-charge in Babhnauti village, admitted that attendance in the school has gone down. “Students come to school and go back in groups along with one of the parents. This has been the routine for over a month now,” he said.
Divisional forest officer (DFO), Bahraich, Ajit Pratap Singh, while explaining the intensity of the issue said, “Earlier, wolves were attacking people in a radius of 2 to5 km in the area. Now, the suspect area has a radius of 10 km: about 50 villages in the vicinity.”
“Even elders do not step out alone. Going for work in the field is done only in groups and we come back home before it is dark as wild animals can see better than us in the dark and attack,” said a villager.
