Human casualties by tigers go alarmingly up in Maharashtra’s Chandrapur

Chandrapur district recorded a rise in tiger-related human deaths despite preventive measures, triggering fear among villagers, criticism from legislators, and concerns over escalating man-animal conflict near forest areas

Kumram Bheem Asifabad: In an alarming trend, Chandrapur district of neighboring Maharashtra saw a spurt in deaths caused by tigers even as preventive measures were taken.

According to data provided by the Forest officials, Chandrapur district registered 47 human casualties as against 29 in 2024, reflecting an increase by 62 percent. The district recorded 26 deaths of humans 2023. It continues to witness a steady rise in human casualties despite a slew of measures by the officials.

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In a recent instance, a tiger mauled Nilkanth Bhure (60), a former Sarpanch of Shivra village while he was visiting his farm in Dhaba forest range on October 28. It earlier killed another farm laborer and two farmers in the same region in a gap of eight days. It was successfully captured and then shifted to a transit treatment centre in Nagpur city on December 20.

Residents of forest fringe villages requested officials to take steps to reduce man-animal conflict. They regretted that they were living in the grip of fear following increasing attacks by tigers on humans. They stated that harvesting crops, inspecting farms and gathering tendu leaves had become a risky affair with tigers being on the prowl and killing farmers, tribals and agriculture laborers.

Moved by the growing incidents of human killings by tigers, Brahmapuri segment MLA Vijay Vadettiwar raised the issue in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly and slammed the State government for failing to address the menace. He alleged that the government was showing negligence in preventing deaths even as locals stage protests at regular intervals.

“The forest department is showing a great degree of sensitivity to reduce man-animal conflict. As part of efforts to tackle conflict, solar fences were erected around forest fringes. Special teams were formed to track movement of tigers, besides creating awareness among the villagers. However, the deaths of civilians continue to go up,” a forest official said.

Meanwhile, a dozen tigers were killed and five leopards lost lives due to age-related ailments, territorial fights and accidents, becoming a concern among environmentalists and tourists who were visiting Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve located in the district. The reserve houses around 50 tigers, attracting tourists from not only several parts of the country, but foreigners, fetching around Rs 150 crore to the government per annum.