In a bid to arrest human- crocodile conflict in villages, lying in the vicinity of Bhitarkanika National Park, the Odisha forest department has undertaken a massive awareness campaign to sensitise the people not to venture into croc-infested water bodies.
As taking a bath in rivers is a risky thing, the bathing ghats have been barricaded with bamboo poles to stop the reptiles in the bathing space in the river. People are being advised to take precautionary steps while using ponds for domestic use amid reports of crocodiles straying into community ponds in villages close to the national park, said forest officials.
The forest department has also launched a cash incentive scheme for locals for information on acts of trespass by crocodiles. These measures come in the wake of the rise in incidence of croc-man conflict in riverside villages.
Once the forest personnel are informed of the act of trespass, it would be easier for them to drive away the intruding crocodiles with traditional methods.
The service groups of skilled fishermen are also being pressed into service to chase the reptiles from places of human habitation.
The forest department has undertaken measures on sensitising people living along the croc-infested rivers. Instructions have been issued requesting them to remain alert and not to venture into water-bodies.
As panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI) hold the key to public sensitisation, the department officials have held interactive sessions with PRI representatives to curb the man-croc conflict. Leaflets and advisory notes have been distributed to the panchayat bodies for creating awareness on crocodiles.
Lethal assault by the reptiles and consequent retaliatory attack by humans has become a regular feature in this part of the state. Most often, the mishaps occur when the victims intrude into the animal’s habitat, for illegal fishing, poaching, fuel wood collection and honey collection.
The conflict and consequent loss of human lives are most frequently recorded during the monsoon and winter months, the nesting season of the estuarine crocodiles.
Bhitarkanika is home to nearly 70 per cent of India’s estuarine crocodile or saltwater crocodiles. The salt-water crocodile population in Bhitarkanika has increased manifold from 96 in 1975 to 1811 in 2024.
Incidentally Odisha is the only State in the country having all three species — gharial, mugger and saltwater crocodile in the wild. The State government had launched a conservation programme of these crocodile species in 1975. While the conservation initiative had yielded positive results as far as saltwater and mugger is concerned, it had failed in the Gharial conservation programme.