Spl forest patrols for Madhyamik students near Jaldapara and Buxa
Alipurduar: With the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education’s Madhyamik examinations scheduled to begin on February 2, the Forest department has launched special safety measures to ensure the secure movement of examinees from forest villages bordering Jaldapara National Park and the Buxa Tiger Reserve.
The initiative aims to prevent human–wildlife conflict and ensure that students can reach their examination centres safely. Senior forest officials said an extensive awareness and escort campaign has been rolled out across sensitive forest zones.
In the Buxa Tiger Reserve, 50 separate teams have been formed across 48 beat offices in the eastern and western divisions, covering core forest areas. Each team consists of four to five forest personnel. Around 500 forest staff will initially be deployed across Buxa and Jaldapara during the examination period.
The heightened vigilance follows a tragic incident several years ago when a student was killed in an elephant attack while travelling through the Baikunthapur forest to appear for the Madhyamik examination. Following the incident, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee directed the Forest department to take special responsibility during board examinations. Since then, forest divisions have been providing security to nearly 10,000 students every year across Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling districts during Madhyamik and Higher Secondary examinations.
A full-fledged quick response system will remain operational at Jaldapara National Park. Assistant Wildlife Warden Nabikanta Jha said around 50 schools fall in and around the Jaldapara landscape, including the Chilapata Wildlife Sanctuary.
“Special surveillance will be maintained in sensitive areas, and students are being escorted where required,” he said, urging parents to ensure children avoid forest shortcut routes.
Deputy Field Director Debashish Sharma said forest staff, elephant response vans, and vehicles are deployed along student routes, amid recent wildlife sightings during exams.
