Tiger on prowl adds to board exam stress in Bengal’s Lalgarh
prowling Royal Bengal tiger has added to the examination stress of thousands of students writing Class 10 board exams in Lalgarh, a forested region of West Bengal.
Students have to reach examination centres in about 100 schools in and around Lalgarh, Sarenga and Goaltore in West Midnapore and Bankura districts, taking roads where pug marks were seen in the past fortnight.
To ensure safety of the students, the state education department has urged district administrations and forest department to take all possible measures to prevent any untoward incident.
“We have asked the administration and the forest department to take steps so that none faces any problem, or suffers from fear, before or during the exam,” said Shyampada Patra, the official in charge of education in West Midnapore Zila Parishad.
Forest staffers and members of the Forest Protection Committee (FPC) are patrolling the roads leading to the examination centres.
“If anyone faces any difficulty in reaching the examination centre, the person can approach our staff or FPC members. They will help them,” said Rabindranath Saha, the divisional forest officer (DFO) in Midnapore.
“Due to the prevailing fear of a tiger moving in the region, we have taken steps so that no one faces any problem in reaching the examination centre,” Arnab Sengupta, DFO, Rupnarayan Division added.
Security presence has been increased in the area. Loudspeakers on vans declaring alerts for people are also darting on the roads.
But fear still looms large on the villagers.
“We cannot take any risk. So we are moving in groups in vehicles,” said Banamali Mahato of Madhupur, on way to Lalgarh with her daughter for her examination that started on Monday.
“Less than 24 hours ago, a villager from our area was attacked by the tiger. We did not dare to let our son travel to the examination centre alone,” said Binod Mandi, another villager.
The fear intensified after the animal attacked one Joyram Soren, 45, a resident of Kuskati village in Goaltore in West Midnapore district on Sunday afternoon.
It was the first instance of the tiger attacking a human since the animal was first sighted by one of the seven cameras set up the forest department near Lalgarh, once a Maoist dominated area.
After villagers complained of vanishing cows and reported pug marks in Madhupur forest in Lalgarh, the forest department installed cameras on February 27.
On March 2, the photos of the big cat were captured by a camera – the first instance of a tiger being sighted in the area.
The forest department set up traps, and also used drones to track the elusive animal. “We have information that the tiger has moved towards Goaltore area,” Saha said.
MIDNAPORE(WESTBENGAL):A