Bijapur: The seven hunters have been arrested by the forest department officials in Rudraram of the Bhopalpatnam Sanctuary area of the Bijapur district in Chhattisgarh on Saturday on a tip-off, disclosed Dhammasheel Ganveer, the director of the Indravati Tiger Reserve. They also recovered tiger skin from their possession, he said.
The tiger skin, which was found in Rudraram village, is of a cub of about two-and-a-half-year-old. According to the official information, some more people will be arrested soon. The police said further information will be announced after their ground-level investigation. The forest department will take strict action against the accused for poaching the tigers.
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It is learnt the government of Chhattisgarh has spent Rs 184 crore for the protection of 19 tigers for the past three years. But, the forest has become a hub of illegal activities. The felling of teak trees and illegal transportation of sand from Bhopalpatnam was going on unabated. Similarly, poaching has also been reported in the area.
To increase the number of tigers in Chhattisgarh, several programmes are being implemented in the Tiger Reserve by the government. But, in the region, poachers are posing a threat to the lives of tigers. Poachers are hunting tigers as there is a huge demand for tiger skins in the international market. Therefore, in order to earn more money in less time, hunters, are killing the tigers, which are called the pride of forests.
