15 vehicles rolled out for patrolling sanctuaries

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Thursday rolled out 15 customised four-wheelers for patrolling different wildlife sanctuaries, including the Satkosia Tiger Reserve in Angul district, an official said.

Additional Chief Secretary (ACS), Forest, Environment and Climate Change (FE&CC) department, Satyabrata Sahu, flagged off the vehicles here in the presence of Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) (Wildlife) Susanta Nanda.“Strengthening of range staff will provide much-needed capacity for protection of our wildlife,” Nanda said on X.

The patrolling vehicles have been provided by State-owned Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative.Sahu said such patrolling vehicles will also be rolled out in other wildlife sanctuaries like Debrigarh in the coming days.

According to officials, 12 vehicles have been rolled out for patrolling in Satkosia Tiger Reserve and three for Kapilas, Balukhanda and Chandaka-Dampada wildlife sanctuaries. The four-wheelers have been modified to suit the working environment inside the forests and carry out duty in all conditions.These vehicles can also be used to rescue wild animals, the officials said. Earlier, the Forest department had provided 14 customised multi-utility vehicles in Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) to combat poachers and smugglers.