Shahjahanpur: Pawan Kumar, 22, was cycling down Gola-Kukra Link road that passes through Gola range of South Kheri forest division area on way to work lost in his own thoughts when a tiger suddenly emerged from the nearby bushes and pounced on him. As he fell from his cycle, the tiger tried to drag the screaming man by his arm him into the bushes. Other commuters rushed to his aid, throwing stones at the big cat and making a loud noise. The tiger fled, leaving the man behind.The incident happened on Thursday morning, a day he is unlikely to forget for the rest of his life. Passersby took Pawan Kumar to the community health centre. Later, he was referred to the district hospital. He is now undergoing treatment in hospital.Earlier, forest department had confirmed the presence of five to six tigers in the area and issued an alert to nearby villages. After the attack, the officials are now monitoring this area and advised locals to be careful while crossing the forest area. The area is under social forestry department. Both forest department and WWF-India officials visited Pawan at hospital and provide him interim help. Divisional forest officer Samir Kumar told TOI that forest department would ensure best possible treatment for the victim.Since April, three persons have been killed in tiger attacks in Lakhimpur Kheri district. The last incident was reported on June 18 in Maheshpur range of South Kheri forest division where Balakram (35) was mauled to death by a tiger while he was watering his crops.Samir told TOI, “Pawan Kumar was attacked when he reached near a water canal. A few other commuters who saw the tiger immediately helped him by making a noise and pelting stone at the animal.“We will now step up patrolling in this area and advise locals to take precautions while travelling through forest area,“ said Samir.Ranjeet Singh, a local, said, “The forest area in Kheri is shrinking whereas the number of tigers has increased significantly. Government should take steps in save the forest area as illegal felling of trees is rampant in this area but forest officials turn a blind eye to it. Where will tigers go when forests are lost? If government doesn’t wake up soon, incidents of man-tiger conflict will increase. Normally, tigers live in their own territory and we need larger forest for proper tiger conservation.”

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