November: When man and tiger come face to face in Asifabad

The fear of the villagers can be justified as tigers killed three humans in the last four years, all in the month of November. Their fears have aggravated with the latest human loss on Friday.

Kumram Bheem Asifabad: Winter, especially November, brings not only freezing temperatures, but disturbing man-animal conflicts to the district.

Come November, people of the countryside in the district hesitate to venture outdoors till 10 am as minimum temperatures of the region hover around 10 degrees Celsius. Similarly, they literally live in the grip of fear, following increased movement of both resident and migrant tigers in the forests and agriculture fields. Their attempt to step outside of their houses is sometimes fraught with danger.

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The fear of the villagers can be justified as tigers killed three humans in the last four years, all in the month of November. Their fears have aggravated with the latest human loss on Friday. Morle Lakshmi (21) from Gannaram was killed by a tiger when she was picking cotton balls in a farm on the edges of Nazrulnagar in Kagaznagar mandal.

The tigers, mostly stray into the forests of the district from Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve in Chandrapur of the neighbouring Maharashtra, in search of not only territory, but also partners for mating in winter, indulge in attacking humans upon being suddenly confronted as assumed by the officials. Movement of the tigers, however, is causing man-animal conflict in the district in Novembers.

Winter is a season of mating for tigers, while farmers harvest the cotton crop from October to December. In particular, the month of November is crucial for the cotton farmers as they would intensify harvesting. However, the movement of tigers goes up in this same period. Tigers moving in the forests roam in the agriculture fields and kill humans when encountered on their path.

November keeps officials of the forest department on tenterhooks. The officials extensively create awareness among the public in rural parts and forest fringe villages over the movement of the tigers using various means of publicity with the onset of the winter. Their efforts are not bearing fruits as rural folks continue to be victims of the man-animal conflict in winter, particularly in November.

Sidam Bheem (69) was mauled to death by when he was plucking balls of cotton in a field located on the fringes of the forest and on the edges of Gondapur hamlet under Choupanguda village in Wankidi mandal on November 15 in 2022. He was a resident of Khanapur village in Wankidi mandal.

Pasula Nirmala (17) was killed by a tiger while she was harvesting the cotton crop at Kondapalli village in Penchikalpet mandal on November 29 in 2020. Sidam Vignesh (23) of Digida village in Dahegaon when he was fishing in a stream on November 11 the same year.