Forest dept launches e-patrolling app in Buxa Tiger Reserve

The state Forest department officers can now monitor the movement of the beat officers who work in the deep forest regions.

The department launched a mobile application, by which the movements of the forest beat officers can 

be observed.

This will not only boost the work culture but also ensure the safety and security of the beat officers who 

work in deep forest areas risking their lives.

The state Forest department has launched the app service in Buxa Tiger Reserve at the Buxa National Park in Alipurduar district.

The application was earlier launched in Sundarbans Tiger reserve at Sundarbans National Park.

“This e-patrolling app will help the officers get all the data from the forests sooner. These data are provided by beat officers from the deep forest region. Earlier they used to come to the office twice in a month. But now, with the help of this app, they can provide the data instantly. The data cannot be changed,” said a senior forest department officer posted at Buxa.

The officer added that this was an android application. However, the internet connectivity could be a point of concern for the forest department officers posted in the Buxa. But they are confident that it will not create a huge problem.

However, a data-collection exercise has revealed that the population of the tiger is on the rise even outside the Sunderbans Tiger Reserve (STR) which is a protected area.

The recent camera trap data shows, the latest set of numbers thrown up by the yearly exercise revealed the presence of at least 22 tigers in the South 24 Parganas forest division, spread over an area of more than 1,500sq km, outside the 2,500sq km of the protected area.

The 2016 exercise is still underway but, going by trends and field reports, the authorities seem confident that the population of the big cat is very much stable.

In more heartening news, the camera traps caught the images of four cubs outside the STR, a figure the authorities haven’t included in the figure of 22.

This is testament to the fact that areas outside the core zone have a good population of tigers that are breeding pretty well.