KOLHAPUR: Twelve trekkers from Pune were arrested on Monday night for allegedly entering the restricted core area of the
Sahyadri Tiger Reserve. They were produced before a local court on May 1 and released on a personal bond of Rs 15,000 each.
The trekkers, all aged around 40 and working in private companies in Pune, were booked under section 27 (restriction on entry in sanctuary) and 51 (penalties) of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. They entered the forest from Chiplun in
Ratnagiri district and were on their way to the
Jungli Jaigad fort near the Koyna lake.
Suresh Salunkhe, assistant conservator of forest, Koyna, said, “On Monday evening, we went to
Shirsingi with a group of volunteers for the annual wildlife census that is conducted on
Buddha Purnima every year.”
12 trekkers arrested in Tiger Reserve
“We found the 12 trekkers preparing to set up camp there. We told them they had entered the core zone area of the STR, which is a crime. They were arrested and brought to the Patan police station,” saud Salunkhe.
Salunkhe said this was for the first time that they had found trekkers in the core zone.
However, environmentalists said people entering the core zone of the STR was quite common. Rohan Bhate, an environmentalist from Satara, said, “The trekkers must have known the routes and trails within the STR to reach the spot. They must have trespassed the core zone several times in the past.”
Sahyadri Tiger Reserve