MADURAI: While many of us are in a holiday mood to celebrate Diwali to the fullest, a few wildlife officials in the southern region of the state would be staying wide awake in their range protecting the animals. With the region gearing up for Diwali celebrations, the wildlife officials in the sanctuaries down south are gearing up with various activities to protect wildlife and prevent any wild animals from being poached by the miscreants on Diwali frenzy.
The patrolling has been intensified in sanctuaries like Kallakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR), Srivilliputhur Grizzled Squirrel Sanctuary and Megamalai Wildlife sanctuary and they have been brought under tight security blanket.
K Sekar, deputy director of KMTR said that the officials will not be taking leave during Diwali as they would be intensively working for the next few days. The villagers in fringe areas have been alerted to keep an eye over any suspicious activities inside the forest areas, he said.
Wildlife officials in Srivilliputhur Wildlife Sanctuary have identified twenty vulnerable spots inside the sanctuary and they have been secured with anti-poaching squad. The forest officials have also roped in 33 village forest committees from adjacent villages to collect intelligence.
"We are gathering intelligence on forest offenders. The patrolling has been intensified and we are also watching the inaccessible areas for any suspicious activities," said A Venkatesh, conservator of forest, Virudhunagar circle.
"The tribal people inside the forest have been informed. The aim of intense patrolling is to find out any suspicious activities inside the forest. We will also be tracking the movements of animals in in the next few days to provide them safety. All measures to prevent poaching, forest fire and any suspicious activities have been taken," he mentioned.
Ikram Shaw, conservator of forests, Madurai Circle said that the Megamalai Wildlife Sanctuary is perambulated and all the wildlife officials have been alerted to keep a watch. "We don't expect any poaching activities in the coming days but we are keeping vigil," he mentioned.
