Hyderabad: In view of the tigers mauling two persons to death in the past 18 days and the movement of other wild animals being evidently observed, the Telangana Forest Department on Thursday issued a standard operating procedure for the villagers (Do’s and Don’ts) residing in nearby forest areas.
The Forest Department had already formed special tracking teams and animal trackers to deal with the tiger responsible for the death of a 15-year-old tribal girl at Kondapally village of Kumuram Bheem in Asifabad on November 29.
The forest officers are making announcements in the village using drums to create awareness among villagers on do’s and don’ts they need to follow to prevent incidents of wild animal attacks.
In the advisory, the forest department said that the villagers shall avoid leaving strip gaps/ pathways in agricultural fields. That means crops should be closely planted for 10 rows on the periphery without leaving any pathways. Also, the villagers shall avoid using routes passing through the forest areas.
Plus, the check gates placed by the forest department along the forest roads should not be objected and a minimum of 8 to 10 people shall go to agricultural fields for harvesting or other agricultural operations. In that group, one person should compulsorily be deployed as sentry, whose duty is to make sound by drum beating and whistling.
Further, the farmer shall stay on Machan in the agricultural field while guarding his crop. The shepherds shall go in groups and shall not take the cattle deep inside the forest for grazing and restrict to ½ Km from the village. The shepherds shall go for grazing after 9 AM and return by 4 PM. Every villager going to the Field should have a protection stick with a small bell tied to it. People working in the field and also shepherds shall wear a face mask on the backside of the head.
The forest department also advised forming a village protection committee with Sarpanch as Chairperson and Forest Beat Officer as its Convener. In case if any shreds of evidence of tiger are noticed, they shall immediately inform the Village Protection Committee and also the forest officials.
The Protection Committee shall purchase whistles and drums sufficient for the groups in the village. Every day the morning the villagers shall give information to village protection committee about the field they are going, the number of people who are going, sentry to that group, the number of villagers should not go to the field without the approval of the village protection committee reads the forest department’s notice to the villagers.