Hunting festival remains bloodless

Hunting festival remains bloodless

Jamshedpur, May 9 (PTI) The annual hunting festival of the tribal community was observed in a bloodless and symbolic manner(प्रतीकात्मक तरीके से) in and around Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary for the third consecutive(लगातार) year, officials said today. An awareness campaign launched by the forest department to observe the hunting festival in a symbolic manner seemed to have paid dividend as it remained bloodless for the third consecutive year, Divisional Forest Officer (Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary), V Bhaskaran said here. The hunting festival Bishu Parv or Sendra was observed in Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary yesterday. The forest department has set up check posts at all entry points to prevent hunters from entering the sanctuary with arms to kill the animals. However, majority of the tribals were now convinced and agreed to observe the festival without harming(हानि ) animals, Bhaskaran said. Asked about reports published in section of the media with photographs of hunted animals like wild boar and peacock during the festival yesterday, Bhaskaran insisted that the festival was bloodless.

"We did not leave any space for the hunters to kill animals with deployment of adequate force, about half a dozen DFOs and over 200 of our daily wagers, to guard entry points to ensure no one could enter with arms," the DFO said.

However, he said, if the media could provide exact information of the location and the time of killing, action would be taken against persons involved in hunting animals.

About Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary(1975)

Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary is located 10 km from the city of Jamshedpur in the Indian state of Jharkhand. It was inaugurated by Sanjay Gandhi in 1975.