The Odisha government on Thursday launched 15 well-equipped special patrolling vans for deployment in the state’s dense forest areas including the Satkosia Tiger Reserve.

Principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) Susanta Nanda said: “It will strengthen the vigil system. Strengthening range staff will provide the much-needed capacity for protecting our wildlife. The vehicles will be deployed in all the ranges of Satkosia Tiger Reserve, Kapilash, Balukhand, and Chandaka Dampada Wildlife Sanctuary.”

The customized jeeps are equipped with GPS navigation and moveable searchlights for a 360-degree view at night. The vehicles are painted in such a way that they can evade easy detection bypoachers.

They can easily move during the monsoon and ply on steep hilly roads and muddy paths inside the dense forest areas.

Ahead of the state’s move to bring Bengal Tigers from Maharastra and Madhya Pradesh, the Mahanadi Coal Fields Limited (MCL) has donated these vehicles tothe government.

Nanda said: “The NTCA (National Tiger Conservation Authority) has given its nod for translocating the tigers. However, we have not set a deadline or a target for this project. We are focusing on making the ground ready for the Bengal tigers to come to Satkosia Tiger Reserve.”

The Satkosia Forest, which covers five districts of Odisha, once boasted of tigers. But over the years, all were killed by poachers.

At present, the Satkosia Tiger Reserve has no tigers. The state government plans to relocate 15 tigers soon.

The Satkosia Gorge Sanctuary comprises parts of Angul, Dhenkanal, Cuttack, Boudh, and Nayagarh Districts and has an area of968.35 sqkm.

It is the meeting point of two biogeographic regions of India: the Deccan Peninsula and the Eastern Ghats, contributing immense biodiversity. Satkosia Tiger Reserve, a part of the Satkosia Gorge Sanctuary, is mostly confined to Angul andNayagarh district.