Kolkata: The fencing that separates the Sunderbans Tiger Reserve from the human habitation was damaged in at least three places as cyclone Amphan has ravaged West Bengal but there was no incident of big cats straying into localities, a top forest department official said.
The control rooms in Gosaba in South 24 Parganas district and Salt Lake near here have not received any incident of tigers or other wild animals straying into adjacent villages in the past three days, Chief Wildlife Warden Ravikant Sinha said.
"There was no report of animal casualty in the core forest area or nearby villages during the cyclone," he said.
Sinha said parts of the fencing were damaged in Kultali, Bidya, Sajnekhali areas and these affected points are being repaired on an urgent basis by field workers of the forest department.
Lakhs of people were rendered homeless as the cyclone cut a path of destruction through half a dozen districts of West Bengal, including Kolkata, on Wednesday night, blowing away shanties, uprooting thousands of trees besides swamping low-lying areas.
The death toll due to the natural calamity has risen to 85 in the state.
Sinha said the Jharkhali camp, a gateway to the Sunderbans, a vast mangrove forest, was partially affected due to the cyclone, and the sluice gate, which regulates water flow to the camp from nearby creeks, has already been repaired.