PALAKKAD: Silent Valley looks unusually grim as search ops for a 52-year-old forest watcher entered the fourth day on Saturday. P P Rajan, a Mukkali native who was on duty in the Sairandhri forest, went missing on Tuesday. He was last seen walking down to his camp shed, after having dinner with his colleagues. Rajan’s torch and slippers were found 20m away from the camp shed. His clothes were strewn 30m farther. There, however, were no traces of blood near the spots, officers said.
A few pug marks of a tiger were spotted nearby but were yet to be confirmed as recent ones, they added. On Thursday, sniffer dogs had been pressed into service, but they could not make headway beyond 20m, as it had rained on Tuesday and Wednesday. Silent Valley wildlife warden S Vinod said about 52 forest personnel and tribal watchers combed the forest on Friday, but the exercise proved futile.
Five specialist trackers of the forest department would arrive from Wayanad to expand the search for Rajan on Saturday. They would be assisted by 16 volunteers of the fire and rescue department. A source said the camp shed area near the Sairandhri watchtower was infested with wild animals such as tigers, leopards and elephants. As work was in progress on the Mukkali-Sairandhri road, tourists were temporarily banned in the area. This led to an increase in the arrival of wild animals on the plains, said a forest watcher.
Rajan had been working as a ‘temporary watcher’ for the past two decades. He had also worked as a guide for tourists visiting the Silent Valley. His case has yet again raised the issue of the lack of proper infrastructure and equipment at the national park. Poor mobile connectivity in the area was another issue pointed out by officers.