Forest officials and staff of Pakhal Wildlife Sanctuary, Warangal (Rural), were allegedly attacked by a group of villagers on Thursday, when the former tried to evict them from forest encroachment.

As per information shared by the Forest department, the officials, along with staff from base camp, acted on an alert, and went to stop illegal tilling of land which was part of the full tank level of a lake. The land fell into the reserve forest area, the note said.

When they tried to seize the tractor being used for tilling, a group of 30 to 40 villagers from nearby Ashok Nagar village, attacked the forest staff, the department alleged.

Cases booked

The situation came under control with intervention from the police, who also booked cases against the errant villagers, including the sarpanch of the Ashok Nagar village, the statement said.

The land the villagers attempted to till was part of an eco-tourism project under Pakhal sanctuary, the release said.

Source: Read Full Article