LUCKNOW, DEC 31: Thanks to unrestricted poaching, Uttar Pradesh has become a virtual graveyard for almost all type of animals which have a price in international market. For example, reptiles are in demand for their soft meat and are being smuggled in bulks. But far from launching any special drive to bust the racket, the Forest Department is completely indifferent toward such malpractice.``We will not share figures of the animals killed so far in our forests with the press,'' Ram Lakhan Singh, Chief Wildlife Warden, clamped up before this reporter. Singh's utter discomfort before the media is but a small indication of the deep-rooted nexus between the smugglers and a section of forest officials which has resulted in mindless killing of animals.
The poachers have become so bold that the carcass of an elephant, withthe ivory removed, was found lying in a field near Jim Corbett NationalPark two days back. The same day, Chainpur villagers gunned down a black buck in Bareilly district.
Last year, hides of nearly 250 leopards and panthers, four lions, 220 black bucks and 40 Siberian birds were recovered. These numbers don't include countless tiger claws and nails.
However, it's not always the dead that bring in money. Tortoise and cows are smuggled alive. Dairy animals are smuggled from Gorakhpur -- about 2,000 a day -- as they fetch good money in Bangladesh. Tortoises, of course, are a gourmet's delight in countries like Singapore, Malaysia or Thailand. Recently, local police arrested four persons for possession of four sackfuls of live tortoises.
``The reported cases are only the tip of the iceberg. The ForestDepartment has no concrete plan to check the practice. Credit goes to police for whatever recovery has been made till date,'' said M.P. Thakur, a wildlife expert.
On the other hand, Department officials express helplessness in checking the practice. Their stock excuse is lack of resources. Officials and employees on guard duty cannot match the sophisticated range of weapons used by the smugglers. During the past 15 years, nearly 130 department employees, including a few officials of Ranger rank, have been killed and another 90 have been injured in different incidents.
``How can we match their fire power? This is why we are forced to turn ablind eye to their activities,'' said an official on condition ofanonymity. As per the department's figures, there are 303 forest mafia gangs active in different parts in 1999 while the figure for previous year was 273.
During the same period last year, the police had recovered 70 hides of leopards from four persons at Ghaziabad Railway station. Th beginning of 2000 saw a huge haul of such articles at Khaga Railway station where hides of 70 leopards, 220 black bucks, four tigers, 132 claws of panthers and leopard and around 1800 nails of leopards were recovered. In May, hides of 50 tigers were recovered in Haldwani and 30 more were recovered later in the same district. Thirteen persons were arrested by the police in Khujhan village in Jaunpur district who were in possession of 40 Siberian birds in August this year.
The efficacy of the department can be gauged from the fact that despiterecoveries of carcasses of tigers, elephants and other protected species,not a single Forest official or employee has been suspended for laxity during the year. The Department usually requests the CBI to probe the cases and washes their hands of the matter.
Copyright © 2000 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
