Forest dept removes cameras after Maoist threat
RANCHI: MAOISTS FEAR THAT THEIR MOVEMENT MIGHT BE RECORDED BY CAMERA TRAPS, WHICH COULD BE USED BY FORCES , OFFICIALS SAY
The Jharkhand forest department has removed 500 camera traps from the state’s only tiger reserve in Palamau after being threatened by Maoists who feared that the devices could reveal their whereabouts to security forces, officials familiar with the matter said.
Equipped with a motion or an infrared sensor, the remotely activated camera is used to capture pictures of the wildlife that help officials in estimating tiger population and their prey base. For the first time, such a large number of cameras were installed at a reserve located in a Maoist-dominated region.
Palamau Tiger Reserve (PTR) director MP Singh said all the camera traps were removed after June 7 when officials of the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and the tiger reserve were threatwould ened by the Maoists.
The Left Wing Extremists (LWE) had asked the officials to move out of the reserve when they had gone there for a study, another reserve official said on the condition of anonymity.
“The rebels snatched GPS devices and two camera traps from the forest guards,” the official quoted above said, adding that the Maoists also asked the forest department officials to remove all the cameras from the reserve.
Singh said the rebels did not hamper the process camera installation that had begun on May 15. “They might have thought later that the cameras record their movements, which might be used in police combing operations. However, we will again try to install cameras in winter season but if the rebels don’t allow for it then we will have no option but to bank on scat samples (for estimation),” Singh said.
During the 2014 estimation, which reported the presence of only three tigers in the reserve, the department had installed 35 camera traps without any opposition from the Maoists.
Trap cameras are important for estimating tiger population in rebel-controlled areas such as Palamau as a direct sighting of big cats in these regions is difficult because officials don’t venture deep into the forests due to Maoist threat.
Singh said no direct sighting of a tiger was reported in the reserve in the last four months, a period marked by increased movement of security forces and Maoists due to combing operations.
Spread over 40 square kilometers, the Burha Pahar area of the tiger reserve is a rebel hub filled with landmines, which pose a threat to wildlife and forest department personnel, PTR officials said.
“We have informed to police, state government and the high court about the security concern at PTR,” state chief wildlife warden LR Singh said. He said the conflict between the forces and Maoists has increased disturbance in the reserve, which is not ideal for tigers.