Armed Sariska guards ready to take on poachers

Alwar: To tackle poaching and prevent the rising number of assaults on forest guards in Sariska Tiger Reserve (STR), the forest department on Thursday equipped the guards with firearms.

The department has formed an armed flying squad to fight poachers who frequently infiltrate the forest reserve.

Armed forest guards will monitor 56 routes in the reserve round the clock. STR deputy field director Balaji Kari said, "After providing arms training, the department has decided to deploy five forest guards per shift. Arms training will be conducted on a regular basis."

In the recent past, the number of poaching cases and assaults on forest guards has increased many times. This year, ranger Keval Kumar Vaidhya and home guard Om Prakash Jangid were seriously injured after poachers opened fire at them.

Narrating a recent incident, a forest official said, "On October 24, forest guards had found skin parts and other remains of a sambar (Rusa unicolour) deer from the forest. The remains were recovered by guards from the Akbarpur range of STR."

According to the official, about five to six poachers, armed with firearms, had managed to sneak into the forest in the early hours. They shot a sambar not far away from the check post located in Rotkela village. "There were two forest guards at the check post. They heard the gunshots but could not launch an attack on poachers as they did not have weapons. Instead, the guards alerted their counterparts in Akbarpur range," he said.

Till date, the forest guards at STR were left to defend wildlife with sticks. The department has now woken up from the deep slumber after recent incidents and fresh fears about the safety of the tigers in the reserve.