ANGUL: Two days after tigress Sundari allegedly killed a man at Tansi village, a six-member expert team arrived on Tuesday to start the operation to shift the big cat. Though they failed in the first attempt to tranquillise the tigress, the exercise continued till late night.
The team including tranquillising experts and doctors are drawn from Satkosia, Similipal and Bhubaneswar. “The expert team under heavy security went to Kumuri where the tigress has been tracked. They are waiting for her to come to a suitable position so that they can successfully administer the tranquilliser. After the tigress is captured, it will be relocated in the special enclosure at Raigoda,” said DFO V Kartik of Angul who is in charge of Satkosia wildlife division.
The DFO said the team took an attempt at tranquillising the tigress in the day but failed. More attempts will be made at night. The ideal time will be when she comes out of jungle. At present she is hiding in dense vegetation between Kumuri and Baghmunda.
Considering the violent reaction of the villagers following the killing of the villager, more than 50 policemen under a DSP have accompanied the team. However, villagers of Tansi, Baghamunda and Kumuri remain in constant fear.
“We are unable to carry out our daily activities in fear of the tigress. At night, we are sleeping in groups with the male members taking guard in shifts,” said a Tansi villager. Angul SDPO Harihar Pani said sufficient police force led by a DSP have gone with the tranquillising team not only to provide security to it but also instill confidence among the fear stricken people.
Meanwhile, Angul Collector Anil Kumar Samal has written to the State Government to immediately shift Sundari. In letter to Additional Chief Secretary of Forest, the Collector said after the tigress mauled two men in Satkosia area, there has been law and order problem and hence the tigress should be shifted out of its present habitation.