Storm triggers tiger worry .....Cyclone partially damages fencing, to keep wild animals away from nearby human habitats, along a 52km-stretch in the Sunderbans

A tree falls on power lines during strong winds due to Cyclone Amphan at Kakdwip near Sunderbans area in South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, Wednesday, May 20, 2020. (PTI)

Snehamoy Chakraborty, TT, 21.05.20, Bolpur(Birbhum): The chances of Cyclone Amphan damaging nylon fencing in the Sunderbans has led the forest department to deploy two teams with tranquillisers at two points to monitor the movement of tigers and keep them away from human habitation.

Forest officials said they had received news of the cyclone partially damaging the fencing along a 52km-stretch in the Sunderbans. The stretch had been fenced to keep wild animals away from nearby human habitats.

The department’s Census carried out between November 2019 and January this year had found 96 Royal Bengal tigers in the Sunderbans.

“There is apprehension that the nylon fencing has been damaged in the cyclone. So, we have deployed two teams of forest officials with tranquillisers and nets at two strategic points in Sajnekhali and Basirhat. The teams consist of 12 efficient forest personnel,” forest minister Rajib Banerjee said.

A nylon fence plays an important role in preventing tigers from straying into villages. There are dedicated employees, including local inhabitants, in the Sunderbans to take care of the fencing, a forest official said.

Cyclone Aila had “badly damaged” the fencing in 2009, the official said. “Amphan is more devastating than Aila. We are keeping a close watch on the Sunderbans. But the monitoring can’t be completed till the cyclone is over because a large number of villagers who used to monitor the areas have taken shelter in flood centres.”

The net has been installed in Shamsernagar, Jhingekhali, Belegudam and Lalitkhali. The chances of damage are more near rivers and small canals.

Officials said prior to Amphan, forest officials had checked nylon fencing in the vulnerable areas but it was not possible to maintain vigil when the cyclone lashed the area.

“It will be a disaster if tigers move towards human habitat because of a natural calamity,” an official said.

The forest department uses drones for surveillance in the Sunderbans but that is not possible during a cyclone, the official said.