In the wake of incidents of illegal fishing and violation of norms pertaining to protection of flora and fauna, the Forest Department has brought Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary under round-the-clock armed security.
Ranganathittu along the Cauvery near Srirangapatna of the district, comprising six mini-islets, is known as ‘Pakshi Kaashi’ as it is considered an ideal place for breeding varieties of birds and marsh crocodiles. At least 35,000 birds from different parts of the world descend on the trees at the sanctuary every year for nesting and breeding.
Nonetheless, incidents of disturbing the birds and illegal fishing were often reported in the vicinity of the sanctuary.
A well-operated racket of fishing in and around Ranganathittu and supplying the catches to Bengaluru and other places was busted on December 13, 2017. A gang of seven members, all out on bail now, was surrounded when it was illegally fishing in Cauvery with heavy-strength nylon nets and five coracles.
A Forest Department employee had sustained stab injury following an attack by the gang with a sharp-edged weapon.
Subsequently, the department has deployed armed security personnel to guard the sanctuary as well as to provide protection to the employees, a senior officer at the department in Mysuru said.
Speaking to The Hindu , the officer added: “We have provided a double-barrel breech-loading (DBBL) gun to the employees.” The team will patrol the area, even in boats, throughout the day to protect nature, he said.
The sanctuary is considered one of the biggest and safest bird sanctuaries in the world. Unfortunately, by taking advantage of absence of armed security personnel, the miscreants were indulging in some illegal activities. The deployment of armed personnel would prevent such activities henceforth, the officer said.
CCTV installation
Several other security measures such as installation of CCTV cameras, providing names of trouble makers to the local police station, deployment of security guards and system of night patrolling are already in place in the sanctuary to prevent poaching and other activities.
In 2013, an adult crocodile was found dead with a piece of nylon net in the body in the sanctuary.
