Hazaribagh, May 28: Sumit Kumar, a resident of Barhi, Hazaribagh, fondly recollects how his grandfather had once told him that crossing GT Road at two points - Danuwa at Chouparan in Hazaribagh and Bhaluwa at Barrachatti in Gaya - was a tall task in 1980s.

Not because of dacoits holed up in the adjoining dense forests of Gautam Buddha Wildlife Sanctuary, but because of animals ambling along the highway as if it belonged to them.

Sumit, or for that matter his grandfather, couldn't have been more right.

There was indeed a time when the famed sanctuary on Jharkhand-Bihar border was teeming with wild animals, who enjoyed living in the thick vegetation and abundant greenery.

That wild abode still exists, spread across 259sqkm between Chouparan in Hazaribagh and Barachatti in Gaya, Bihar, but reduced to a shadow of its former glory.

According to local people, the forests, located about 65km from Gaya town and 65km from Hazaribagh district headquarters, has been steadily losing its greenery and wild denizens for years because of large-scale felling of trees and illegal timber business by the local mafia.

They further claimed that the forest officials, despite being fully aware of the unlawful dealings, did not take any action in the past two decades.

"Earlier, there were a number of animals in the sanctuary starting from tigers to leopards, sloth bears to deer and foxes to hyenas. But the tigers and leopards disappeared over the years. Now, one can find only a few deer, hyenas and foxes," said a local resident, unwilling to give his name.

Bisheshwar Singh, a septuagenarian hailing from Chouparan, said earlier the sanctuary, which came into being in 1976, used to attract tourists from various places besides wild animals and different species of birds.

"The mafia, in connivance with forest officials, have been plundering the sanctuary for the past two decades, axing trees in large numbers, which automatically drove away the animals. It's high time forest officials put a check on such activities," he warned.

Divisional forest officer (wildlife) R.N, Mishra refuted the claims though, saying the sanctuary did have enough wild species.

"I have ordered a probe into allegations of felling of trees. Immediate action will be taken in this regard," he said.

Ranger officer Pramod Kumar, however, admitted to the bleak scenario.

"A census conducted around the time the sanctuary came into existence had confirmed presence of tigers and other animals. The last census conducted in 2014 confirmed 200 deer, 89 sambhars and 15 sloth bears. Recently, we spotted four peacocks in the sanctuary. The animal count has definitely gone down because of human interference as well as axing of trees," Kumar told The Telegraph.

He also expressed helplessness about guarding the sanctuary, saying that they had only forest guard

was established in 1976 in an area of 259 sq km on border of Bihar and Jharkhand involving two districts Hazaribagh and Gaya, the sanctuary is 65km from Gaya town and 65km from Hazaribagh district headquarters.

Many accused forest department for not taking any action to put a check on mafias who were continuously damaging the greenery of the sanctuary for expensive wood.

Student Sumit Kumar of Barhi said he used to hear from his grandfather that crossing GT road at two points namely Danuwa of Chouparan in Hazaribagh and Bhaluwa of Barrachatti in Gaya was a tough task till 1980 when wild animals used to come on highway. Now we hardly see animals while visiting this sanctuary, he added.