Correspondent
PASIGHAT, 14 Dec: Organised fishing and collection of driftwood from the water bodies of the Daying Ering Wildlife Sanctuary (DEWS) on the outskirts of Pasighat in East Siang district is posing a challenge to the wildlife officials.
Divisional Forest Officer (WL) Tasang Taga informed that “illegal activities are going on unabated in the water bodies of the wildlife sanctuary, which is disturbing fresh water dolphins and migratory birds that come to the sanctuary in the winter.”
The East Siang district administration and the Adi Bane Kebang have already imposed a ban on fishing and collection of driftwood from the riverbed in the sanctuary, but commercial fishermen and timber traders are carrying out such destructive activities, which is causing concern among the wildlife officials, as well as the Eco Development Committee (EDC) members.
Wildlife officials say that there is a network of commercial fishermen, including people of the state and neighbouring Assam, who are illegally fishing using explosives and battery inverters, thereby destroying the aquatic ecosystem. Moreover, they collect driftwood from the water bodies using machine boats and saws inside the sanctuary, disturbing the migratory birds.
The wildlife officials and EDC members, who recently conducted a survey on Asian water birds in the DEWS, noticed the trespass and unpermitted movement of illicit traders. The team of officials and EDC members also caught three commercial fishermen, along with two timber operators, during the survey and seized fishing nets, wood saw and boats from their possession.
The people of East Siang, including EDC members and nature lovers, have demanded that the state’s forest department chalk out an intensified strategy to protect the wild beasts and other natural resources in the DEWS.
Meanwhile, Pasighat West MLA Ninong Ering has approached the state government functionaries to take up time-bound protection measures for the wildlife sanctuary, as the sanctuary is named after his father, late Daying Ering, the architect of Arunachal Pradesh.
