Pilibhit: To protect villagers from getting mauled by tigers during the harvesting of sugarcane in the areas adjoining Pilibhit tiger reserve as well as well as Amaria agriculture belt, conservator of forest, Bareilly division, PP Singh has ordered combing of the cane fields before every cycle of harvesting to ensure that there is no presence of any big cat there.This order has been passed in view of incidents of villagers being attacked by tigers lurking amid the cane fields. In some cases, villagers were killed. .Conservator Singh has directed both PTR’s divisional forest officer Kailash Prakash and divisional director of social forestry Adarsh Kumar to make arrangements to carry out the combing operation.According to Singh, the order will come in force with immediate effect. “Both forest officials have been directed to coordinate with district cane officer Rajeshwar Yadav for collecting regular information about the issuance of sugarcane supply tickets to farmers and then to send their range officers with forest force to comb the respective cane fields,” he said.According to Rajeshwar Yadav, sugarcane has been cultivated in around 88,000 hectares this year and about 10% remains to be harvested in villages situated in the eco sensitive zone of PTR.The forest officials have also been asked to seek active participation of gram pradhans and the members of block development committee to ensure there is no resistance by villagers against combing work.Singh said the gram pradhans as well as farmers concerned would be persuaded to send their tractors to the site of harvesting so that the tiger could easily be pushed back to the wild without causing damage to anyone in case it was hiding amid the cane crop.

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