By Manoj Kar
Kendrapara(Odisha), July 13: Bidyadhar Rout, Sudhakar Rout, Snehalata Mandal, Kanhailal Mandal, Mitei Parida, Manas Behera, Amar Nayak, Duryodhan Mallik, Patitapaban Maiti and Basanta Behera. With destiny playing cruel joke, all of these poor settlers from the villages on the fringes of Bhitarkanika wildlife sanctuary have met untimely death.

The common factor that binds these deceased and their bereaved families is that violent crocodiles devoured them one after the other at periodic intervals.

With saltwater crocodiles constantly on the prowl in the peripheral villages of the wildlife sanctuary, villagers are living under lurking threat of these man-eating reptiles.

While the crocs on rampage continue to be on the killing spree, the plight of the bereaved families has got compounded in the gross absence ex-gratia compensation package award by the state forest department.

The man-crocodile conflict has reached a flashpoint and that has triggered a major socio-economic problem in these perennially backward areas, said Binayak Swain, a social activist working on empowering people on forest-side villages.

The government flush with funds is intent on conserving the crocodiles. Three decades back, the estuarine crocs were threatened in the Bhitarkanika territorial limits. But the scenario has brightened up now with over 1,500 reptiles crowding the water bodies here, he said.

“We are not opposed to the animal conservation programme. But at the same time, the state forest department should be sensitive to human suffering and plight,” Swain described.

The population of these reptiles seems to have reached a saturation point. Over-population has resulted in food scarcity. In their quest for food, these animals are going berserk killing humans and livestock with consummate ease, he narrated.

The human toll is on the rise. In past 18 months, violent crocodiles have eaten up ten persons including two women and an 11-year-old boy. Over a two dozen more preyed by the crocs have been rendered permanently crippled.

The state forest department has awarded Rs one lakh ex-gratia compensation only to one of the bereaved families while blissfully ignoring to cover nine other families under the scheme.

It amounts to criminal negligence and in all likelihood; it may provoke the agitated people launch retaliatory attack on crocodiles.

“We are never anti-people. We want both people and animals to co-exist peacefully,” said Prasanna Behera, Rajnagar Mangrove (wildlife) forest division.

“We are always bound by technical and legal formalities while awarding ex-gratia aid. The majority of crocodile-induced-deaths have mostly gone unreported. Unless we are informed of the death and submitted with the post mortem report by the local police station, compensating the deceased's families is now within the parameters of rules,” he said.

“Still we are adopting a sympathetic view towards some of the recently reported death. We are trying our best to compensate some of the bereaved families,” Behera maintained.

As it has mostly been found, local settlers trespass into croc-infested prohibited water bodies for fishing. In the process, they not only break law but also expose themselves to the preying crocs.