JOGULAMBA GADWAL: The fishermen of Turukonipally village in Gadwal mandal seems to be facing a crocodile menace with as many two members of the dangerous reptile species being spotted in the nearby water on consecutive days.
According to the villagers, two crocodiles were trapped in their fishing nets in two days.
On Monday, the fishermen found a 7-feet long crocodile trapped in a fishing net they spread to in the water tank.
The crocodiles present in the tank have been causing huge loss to local fishermen.
The local fishermen fenced off the entire area to protect their belogings, especially their catch, from the ‘Chiru kukkalu’ (dogs) and other animals. They also spread a fishing net to catch fish.
However, when the fishermen came to check the net they found that a seven-feet long and 80kg crocodile was found to be stuck in the net. The fishermen immediately informed the forest officials, who rushed to to the spot and caught the crocodile. Later, the officials released the crocodile in Jurala Dam.
On Tuesday too, the fishermen noticed a 1.50-meter long, 15kg crocodile. Speaking to Express, a local fisherman Telugu Mohan said that their village had been facing the crocodile problem for a long time. He said in the past there was an incident of a crocodile from the tank attacking and eating a goat that entered the tank to drink water.
The fisherman said that there were also incident of crocodiles attempting to eat the cattle.
“We have no clue on how many crocodiles are there in the tank. We have released two lakh fish seed in the tank. But the crocodiles are eating them,” he said.
“We are also facing problem from dogs (Chiru kukkalu) in the area. There are nearby 30 of them in this ares,” he said, urging the officials to find out how many crocodiles are there in the tank and to solve the problem.
Speaking to Express, Forest range officer Gundose Chandrasekhara Chary said that it was the second incident of crocodile finding reported from the village. “The crocodiles are coming from Jurala Dam. We are helping them whenever the farmers inform us.”