At least two men have died in tiger attacks this month in the Sunderbans while they were out fishing, forest officials said.
The actual number could be more. Accounts by residents and members of the local administration suggest two more deaths that the forest department has yet to confirm.
The men were all part of fishing expeditions in the core forest areas, where human entry is prohibited, said a forest official.
The two deceased identified by the forest department are Dipak Mondal and Jagadish Mondal.
“Both of them had permits issued by the forest department. But the permits were valid only in the buffer areas. They were attacked in the core forest area, where they entered illegally,” said Justin Jones, deputy field director, Sunderban Tiger Reserve.
According to a report with the forest department, Dipak, 58, from Kumirmari village in Gosaba, was part of a four-member group that was out fishing. He was attacked in Chandkhali in National Park East, one of the four ranges of the tiger reserve, around 12.30pm on February 4.
Jagadish was attacked around 9.30am on February 12 in Chamta, also in the National Park East range.
Jones said tigers seldom attacked fishermen in the river. “They are attacked when they get off the boats and enter the forest in search of crabs. We keep advising them against such reckless moves but some people do not listen and pay with their lives,” he said.
Villagers, police, panchayat members and an official in the local administration told this newspaper about at least two more casualties.
They said both were from Kultali — Chidam Haldar from Gopalganj and Pradip Sardar from Deulbari Debipur.
“Sardar left with two others on February 8 to catch fish. He was attacked on Wednesday. His body was brought back to the village on Thursday,” said a neighbour.
The deputy chief of the gram panchayat, Nikhil Baidya, said: “He died in a tiger attack.”
Haldar, who was part of a four-men group, left on February 7, said a resident of Gopalganj. News of his death reached his village on February 12.
An officer at Kultali police station confirmed both deaths.
Kultali BDO Suchandan Baidya said: “I have heard of two deaths. But I am yet to get details.”
The next of kin of a person who dies in human-wildlife conflict is entitled to a contractual government job and compensation, Baidya said.
But a forest official said the scheme was not applicable to people who died in tiger attacks in core forest areas. “The deaths are unfortunate. But these people were breaking the law. Had they been caught alive, they would have been prosecuted,” he said.
The human-wildlife conflict in the Sunderbans saw a surge during the Covid pandemic.
As people lost livelihood and many people from the Sunderbans who worked outside as migrant labourers came back, the local population’s dependence on the forest kept rising. More people entered the forests to catch fish and crabs.