As the harvesting season is not far off, the Forest personnel have engaged local youths to drive out wild boars, which grow menacing and go on a damage spree around this time. The boars stray into the human habitation and ripe paddy crop fields, causing man-animal conflicts.
According to Rajnagar DFO Kedar Kumar Swain, nearly 70-75 youths of the locality have been engaged to drive away the wild boars without causing any harm to them. They have been deployed in the villages and also to stand guard on the corn fields to drive out the wild boars at night.
The Forest department has formed as many as 15 anti depredation squads, each consisting of five local youths besides some forest personnel. These youths would look after the fringes of the Bhitarkanika National Park where solar fencing or stone bar fencing has not been made, said Swain.
These youths were nominated after resolutions made in their respective panchayats. They have been provided with cycle tyres, search lights and fire crackers.
“The youths are going to be engaged till the harvesting season is over. They will be given Rs150 to Rs190 depending on their experience per night,” informed Swain.
Notably, the wild boar menace is a regular feature during harvesting season in Gupti, Rangani, Talachua , Iswarpur, Pravati, Rajendranarayanpur, Chinchiri, Kathuaganda, Satabhaya, Barahipur, Osia, Dolika, Bhopal ,lanjuda, Kaitala, Jamboo, Jagatjora, Batighar, Suniti, Palatunga , Bankua,lalitapatiua, Dangamal,Khola,Bhitarkanika, Kalibhanjadiha and other villages. The Forest department has made fencing in some of the areas from Balijora to Ragadapatia , Talchua to Rangani village, Ratapanga to Narasinghpur and Narsinghpur to Sasan.
The boundary of the national park is 150 km and all the areas have not been put under fencing.