Bhubaneswar: Ace wildlife filmmaker and elephant conservationist Sangita Iyer has lauded Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) Wildlife Susanta Nanda for its effort and Zero Tolerance Policy towards the poachers.
Veteran IFS Officer, Shri Nanda, an ardent wildlife lover, has been applauded by the renowned wildlife conservator Sangita for arresting a wildlife criminals and poachers through innovative technology.
The Forest Department officials arrested notorious poacher Baiga Ho, who visited the core area in the Simlipal Tiger Reserve (STR) recently. Cameras installed inside the forest area captured his pictures. He was arrested with strong evidence.
Sharing this news on social media platform X, Chief wildlife Warden of Odisha Shri Nanda said, “This is Baiga Ho, notorious for poaching. Was Seen in several cameras in Similipal recently. Staff traced him and arrested. Now solid proof to convict him. For securing Simlipal Tiger Reserve, remote IR cameras have been installed all around for continuous 24×7 monitoring.”
After coming across the social media post of X, Sangita in her post, wrote, “AMAZING NEWS FOR THE WILDLIFE of Odisha!! All thanks to @susantananda3 and Dr. Gogineni’s team.
Significant progress has been made in the few months that Susanta Nanda has been at the helm of State Wildlife Conservation. His ‘ZERO TOLERANCE’ policy towards the poachers is creating a safer place for wildlife!”
Thanks to the able leadership, dynamism and dare devil approach towards the wildlife criminals of PCCF Wildlife Shri Nanda, poachers are now on run, said a former DGP Odisha.
The PCCF Shri Nanda is known for its innovative practices and strong action taken to make Odisha forests as a haven for wildlife animals. Due to his continuous efforts, a lot of poachers have been either arrested or their arms were seized during a special drive jointly launched by Forest and Police Departments in the STR area.
These efforts have also resulted in an increase in tiger population in the State especially in the STR. The tiger population rose to 30, which is 10 more than what the figure was two years ago, according to the maiden All Odisha Tiger Estimation (AOTE) 2023-24 report released by the Forest Department
However, a total of 27 unique adult tigers were camera-trapped in Odisha during the AOTE exercise, comprising 14 females and 13 males. Evidence of another 3 adult tigers was also seen in the Similipal tiger reserve, which have not been camera trapped.