Crimes on the wane in Sundarbans

The incidents of crimes are declining in the Sundarbans as “smart patrolling” has proved to be an effective mechanism to contain crimes inside the forest, claim forest officials.

Members of a special smart (special monitoring and reporting tools) patrolling team are conducting drives in different parts of the Sundarbans using a “cyber-tracking system”, aiming to preserve wild animals, including tiger and deer, as well as prevent other forest crimes.

Mahmudul Hasan, divisional forest officer (DFO) of the Sundarbans East Division, said the patrolling teams conducted drives from January 23 to February 28, this year.

During the drive, they arrested 39 people and seized 69 boats after patrolling a 10,339-km area of the mangrove forest. The drives would continue till December 31 this year, he said.

Using the cyber-tracking method, the team can monitor the habitats of wild animals, poaching of tigers and observe the intruders in the forest.

During the drives, the special team arrested fishermen and intruders involved in catching fish illegally in the Sundarbans. They also seized some boats and current nets from their possessions.

The team members are taking legal actions against those involved in violating the rules of the forest after tracking the crime spots through the GPS service.

Sources said the government introduced the “smart patrolling” drives in October, 2017 while the team started their drives on January 23 under four ranges (east and west) of the Sundarbans.

However, the forest department sources said the authorities concerned have been thinking of extending the tenure of the special team.

Mahmudul Hasan, DFO of the Sundarbans (east division), said skilled members of the forest department have been incorporated in the team for helping them during the drives.

Amir Hossain Chowdhury, the forest conservator of Khulna region, said the project has been introduced for preserving the resources of the Sundarbans. “Forest crimes have already come down through the drive,” he claimed.

He also stressed the need for increasing equipment for the team and introducing a ration system for its members.