‘Little guards’ whom illegal tree-cutters dread
DUDHWA,KHERI: They are just children, but much feared by poachers and illegal tree-cutters in the areas around Dudhwa National Park.
These 10-18 year olds, members of Tiger Haven Society, help forest guards in protecting animals and trees of the area, say forest officials. Ten-year-old Ritesh Kumar, a student studies in Class 5, guards the forest area near his village, Musafirnagar in Kheri district, in his free time.
“I am part of the Tiger Haven Society where I have been trained to identify poachers and those coming to cut trees,” said the little boy, who has 24 other friends doing the same. This group of 25 ‘little angels’ had come to participate in the ongoing bird festival at Dudhwa.
These kids have been trained in classes conducted every Sunday in their village and have been taught the importance of nature too, said Shekhar Srivastava, an official of the society.
Srivastava said training children in identifying poachers and illegal tree-cutters has been going on since the past two years.
He said that apart from learning about nature, poachers and illegal tree-cutters, these children also learn about toilet building and help villagers with information on the same. “If someone needs to build a toilet in their village, these children provide information about how to build it,” Srivastava said. “The kids come voluntarily and learn about environment and animals. They are very alert when it comes to checking poaching or tree felling,” said Srivastava.
The modus operandi of these children is to keep a watch on strangers in the areas earmarked for them in the forest. If they find someone with equipment or fire arms, they inform the forest officers.
“We do not interact with strangers, but inform the officers,” said Amar Kumar, 12, another member of the squad.
“Since past two years these children have, on several occasions, spotted poachers and illegal tree cutters and got them chased away by forest guards,” said Srivastava.