COLLUDING IN KAZIRANGA

The Pioneer , Friday, May 06, 2016
Correspondent : Poaching
Punish forest guards helping rhino poachers

At a time when India has registered reasonable success in curtailing wildlife poaching and offering a fresh lease of life to some endangered species, primarily the tiger, the continued killing of the one-horned rhinoceros strikes a jarring note. Indeed, it is a reminder of how much more work still remains to be done to protect and conserve this country's rich and diverse but also delicate and in many cases endangered wildlife heritage. The most recent killing happened on May 3, when an adult rhino that had strayed out of the national park, fell into the hands of poachers at BiswanathChariali district. Before that, on April 13, a rhino was poached inside the park, that too at a time when all eyes were on Kaziranga, as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were visiting. Overall, the death toll for 2016 is already up to eight which is worrying, considering we are not even half way through the year yet. Last year, 17 rhinos were poached in Kaziranga, and in the two preceding years, the death toll was even higher, at 27 rhinos each. Those familiar with Kaziranga believe that one reason for the alarming number of poaching cases this year is the shuttering of an intelligence cell that had been formed just a year ago to keep the rhinos safe. During the time that this cell was functional (May to July 2015), there was a noticeable improvement in the security situation. However, it was a shut down few months ago and hasn't been re-opened, despite the Chief Minister's reported personal intervention.

Nevertheless, while there is no way to make up for the loss of these precious lives, one can take heart from the fact that the authorities as well as the public at large seem to be seized of the matter. In fact, rhino poaching had become an election issue as well for the State which went to the polls last month. The matter was raised by almost every single political party in the State. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah highlighted the issue during their election campaigns in Assam, where the BJP is hoping to form the Government for the first time. Also, the authorities are taking steps to fight back. On May 3, the same day as the killing in BiswanathChariali district, eight people were arrested in a poaching case from November 2015. Three of the suspects are forest guards, another one is a former forest guard, and the remaining four are the accused poachers. After the rhino had been poached and its precious horn, which is much in demand in China and some South-East Asian countries for its supposed medicinal properties, had been removed, the animal was buried in the park, with the help of the forest guards. There is only one way to fight this problem: Stringent punishment for any forest official or guard who colludes with poachers. If the perpetrators aren't penalised or they are let off with just a rap on the knuckles, it will be near impossible to ensure the sanctity of the park no matter what conservation measures are put in place.

 
SOURCE : http://www.dailypioneer.com/columnists/edit/colluding-in-kaziranga.html
 


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