File picture of the forest range office that was set ablaze

Kendrapara, Nov. 6: Uneasy calm prevailed at Sasanapeta village prompting district police to beef up patrolling near the Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary.

The village had hogged the spotlight on October 18 with a mob consisting of nearly 1,000 people torching the Gahirmatha marine forest range office in protest against the death of a local villager following wild boar attack. Two motorised boats and a jeep belonging to the forest department had also been set afire in the incident.

The non-disbursal of Rs 2 lakh ex gratia to the bereaved family has added to the people’s anger, thus aggravating the matter further.

“For the forest department, humans are less precious. Safety of wildlife, it seems, is of paramount importance than that of the local residents,” said a local villager.

Kirti Bhusan Mandal, 62, succumbed to the attack by a horde of wild boars. Mandal’s family has not yet received the promised ex gratia. Since wild boar is a scheduled animal under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, death by its attack entitles a victim’s family for compensation.

“Armed police have been stationed at the village as local people continue to stage protest rally. Police administration is keeping close watch on the situation,” said Kendrapara superintendent of police Rabi Narayan Behera.

The state forest department is stuck in a tug of war with the local people, who are opposing frequent intrusion of wild animals into the villages. With discontentment brewing at the village, fresh bouts of confrontation may not be ruled out.

“Situation is volatile at the village. Breach of law and order appears imminent. For multiplicity of factors, the village has turned inimical towards the forest department and the police,” said rights activist Gayadhar Dhal.

People are living in a state of panic anticipating police crackdown. Cases have been registered against about 700 villagers in connection with October 18 incident. The village wears a deserted look with male folks fleeing their homes fearing arrest. “About a dozen of innocent people, who had nothing to do with disturbances, have been arrested so far,” said Dhal.

“My husband and two other male members of our family have fled from the village. We are apprehending police action. We lived on income from fishing. As the male members have left, we are in dire straits. We have nothing to eat. We are living on charity of neighbours,” said another local villager Shantilata Mandal.

Wild boars are on a rampage and straying into human habitations. The animals are ravaging the cultivation fields. The forest department is watching silently as people are suffering, she said.

“The forest department is sensitive towards the people’s plight. We want peaceful coexistence of humans and animals. Ex gratia sum would be paid to the deceased’s family shortly after the completion of legal formalities,” said officer of the Rajnagar mangrove (wildlife) forest division Kedar Kumar Swain.

To ward off the animal intrusion, a galvanised steel fencing is being put up along 3km-long boundary of the village, he said.