Police, Forest department join hands to curb poaching

Director General of Police, Uttar Pradesh, Vikram Singh said sharing of information and coordination between both departments would be improved. He said the police would have to play a pro-active role for significant results. "We will prepare a list of notorious wildlife criminals and initiate action. The criminals will now be booked under more serious acts," Singh added. He was speaking at a seminar on 'Wildlife Crime Enforcement' in the city on Wednesday.

Chief Wildlife Warden D N S Suman said indiscriminate poaching had pushed many species towards extinction. "Loss of any species can have serious implications on nature's cycle. The situation is already grim. Somehow, wildlife crime was not given the deserved emphasis. We don't have a history or database of wildlife crimes," he said.

Suman added that forest officials were being equipped with rifles and technical devices to carry out their work efficiently.

State Forest minister Fateh Bahadur Singh said the government had allocated the highest-ever budget of Rs 460 crore for the department this year. "Rs 100 crore will be spent on infrastructure. Amenities like roads, bridges, lighting will be improved so that officials can properly vigil forest areas. We will encourage locals to give information about poachers. Informers will be suitably awarded," he said.

He said wildlife traffickers take advantage of the porous border between India and Nepal to smuggle animals. “ Pilibhit, Gorakhpur, Katarnia Ghat, Dudhwa and the Nepal border are particularly susceptible. The wildlife mafias will be dealt with an iron hand," he said.