BALASORE: Tension prevails in Kunduli panchayat, under Singla police limits in Balasore district, after a five-foot-long dead crocodile was found entangled in a fishing net by local fishermen from Dubdubi river, a tributary of Subarnarekha river, on Monday.
Krushnachandra Mallick and Jyotiranjan Patayat, residents of the area, said fishermen who had cast their nets in the Dubdubi River for fishing, found a large crocodile entangled in it. Unfortunately, the reptile was found dead and the fishermen transported it to the riverbank.
Locals who were already worried by the sighting of more than four crocodiles in the river about a month ago were panicked after getting to know about the dead crocodile. Residents have stopped using the river water for bathing and other purposes. Upon receiving information, forest personnel from the Chandipur range arrived at the scene and sent the dead crocodile for postmortem.
The assistant conservator of forests (ACF) Diganta Sovan Chand, confirmed that the reptile was male. The exact cause of its death and its age would be determined after the postmortem, he said, urging range staff to increase vigil while advising locals to exercise caution.