PTR forest officials start vehicle checking to prevent poaching

Pilibhit: To prevent poaching, the field forest force has started a vehicle checking drive between 8 pm and 6 am on all three district roads which pass through the core forest area of Pilibhit Tiger Reserve, from Saturday night.
This initiative was taken following orders of divisional forest officer (DFO) Manish Singh, in the wake of hunting of wildlife by a group of armed poachers in the Mala forest range.On Aug 30, one of the poachers allegedly snatched the rifle of a forest guard.
Notably, Pilibhit-Basti NH 730, Madhotanda-Uttarakhand interstate road, and Pilibhit-Madhotanda district major road pass through core forest regions of Mala and Mahof forest ranges in a stretch of 7- 9 km each.
"The forest staff will note down the registration numbers of all two and four-wheelers passing through the three forest roads and also search them in case of any suspicion. Pedestrians and cyclists will also be checked as a precautionary measure. This will provide a database of vehicles on jungle roads for reference in case any wildlife crime is committed in the future," said the DFO.