Tiger kills 4 people in recent months, villagers living in fear in Parseoni

 

Four farmers have been killed and two have been seriously injured in tiger attacks in Parseoni Forest Range in recent months, including Saturday’s incident, in which 32-year-old Ravindra Kalsarpe was killed in front of his wife while working at a farm at Neurwada village, in Deurwada. The Forest Department has miserably failed again to stop these man-animal conflict incidents and save the human lives. As a result, the villagers are living in fear and are worried about lives of their loved ones.

 

This is not the first tiger attack in the region. As per local sources, four farmers have been killed and two have been severely injured in the recent man-animal conflicts in the Parseoni Forest Range. These recurring incidents have created climate of fear among the farming community, labourers and school going-children alike. Regarding these frequent man-animal conflicts, ‘The Hitavada’ spoke with Bharat Singh Hada, Deputy Conservator of Forest, who said, “The Forest Department is trying its best to reduce this man-animal conflict in the Parseoni Forest Range area. But due to the tigers moving from Parseoni going to Pench, conflicts happen when they come across humans”. He also stated that the Forest Department has started integrating AI to help them in the man-animal conflict cases. Hada has also confirmed that the search for this problem tiger has begun. The increasing man-animal conflict is also a problem that the Forest Department has been trying to tackle lately. But despite their efforts, they do not seem to bear fruits in resolving this issue. 

 

 

 

Ravindra Kawadji Kalsarpe (32) was fatally attacked by a tiger while clearing crop residue on his farmland in Parseoni with his wife. Unaware of the lurking predator, Ravindra was pounced upon and bitten fatally on the throat, all in front of his helpless wife. Her cries for help brought villagers rushing to the scene, prompting the tiger to retreat into the forest. Village Sarpanch Fajit Sahare alerted the Parseoni Police, Forest Department, and Tehsildar. Police Inspector Rajeshkumar Thorat and Forest Range Officer Pravin Lele arrived promptly. Controversy erupted when officials sent the body for post-mortem without conducting a panchnama, leading to villagers’ protests. The body was returned, the documentation completed, and peace restored. Officer Lele has announced a relief package, a government job for the widow, an advance of Rs 50,000, and Rs 10 lakh ex-gratia. The incident has reignited concerns over human-wildlife conflict in the region.