Gurgaon resident complains of inaction against animal poachers in Aravallis

A week after a Gurgaon resident filed a complaint against wildlife poaching in the Aravallis near Tata Raisina Residency on Golf Course Extension Road, another resident wrote to the state government and the forest department, on Sunday, reporting inaction.

On December 9, a resident had filed a complaint at the Badshahpur police station against wildlife poaching near Tata Raisina Residency. The complainant said a large number of jackals and peacocks are being hunted and captured by a gang of poachers/animal traders. He had shared pictures of trapped peacocks and evidence of metal trap on the ground with the wildlife department. Acting on the complaint, a team from the wildlife department inspected the area and found signs of metal traps used for hunting animals.

On Sunday, however, Vaishali Rana Chandra, a resident of Valley View Estate, in the letter to state government stated that metal traps, both big and small, can still be seen in the green belt near Tata Raisina Residency on Golf Course Extension Road.

Talking to Hindustan Times, Chandra said she visited the green area near Tata Raisina Residency on Saturday to verify if there are still any animal traps near water sources, and found that they had not been cleared despite the officials having the requisite information.

In the letter to state government, Chandra wrote that the forest department officials have failed to act. “Poaching wildlife including our National bird in Gurgaon Aravallis is an organised syndicate…This wasn’t a one off case….how would one explain these metal traps of varied sizes, big and small, to trap birds like peacocks, rabbits and porcupines to animals like nilgai and leopards,” the letter read.

“This is negligence on part of the department; even after getting information, they are not able to take stringent action, ” environmentalist Vivek Kamboj said.

Records show that no cases of poaching have been registered in Gurgaon for the past two years.

Activists alleged that the forest department officials are not patrolling the forested terrain regularly, thereby rendering the local wildlife vulnerable to poachers.

While residents and activists claimed there has been no noticeable action to curb incidents of poaching in the Aravallis, conservator of wildlife, south Haryana, Vinod Kumar said, “Our teams are carrying out regular patrolling of the area to save the wildlife from poachers.”

The forest department officials said they are aware of the situation and have taken prompt action. “Teams have been directed to conduct night patrolling. Our team requires some time to understand the pattern to nab these poachers,” said D Hembram, conservator of forest, South Haryana.

The forest department has a team of 15 staffers for patrolling.