Puri: The network of open drains near Balukhand Wildlife Sanctuary here has become a virtual deathtrap for many animals of the sanctuary, mostly deer, as they often fall into it and end up losing lives.
A few passers-by spotted two deer in a drain near Gopalpur Trinath temple along the Balighat-Harekrushna Road here before informing the Balukhand Range officials.
Though Forest officials managed to fish out the duo, one was lifeless. “The other one was released into the sanctuary, while the carcass was buried on the range office premises after an autopsy,” Forester Bhimsen Das pointed out, adding that the female herbivores were three-year-olds.
According to Das, this was not a lone incident. “A few villagers spotted the carcases of two deer floating in the same drain January 18 and alerted us,” Das said.
Similarly, a deer was found dead in Talabania area January 9. Besides, the Forest officials rescued a deer from a drain in Talabania area before releasing it into the wild a few days ago, the forester added.
Meanwhile, locals as well as Forest officials attributed the frequent incidents of deer falling into drains in the locality to the laxity of the Works department to cover the open drains.
The network of five-foot deep and four-foot wide open drain in the area has become a death trap for deer. “Despite the area being close to a sanctuary, the drains here are open. As a result, every now and then deer and other animals from the sanctuary fall into the drain and end up losing lives. We’ve approached the Works department to cover the drains. But precious little has been done so far,” a senior Forest official said.
Apart from searching for food, deer were straying into the nearby human settlements fearing dogs in the wild. And they often fall into the open drains here, the official pointed out.
When contacted, Puri divisional forest officer (Wildlife) Harsha Bardhan Udgata said they have asked the Works department to cover the drains with concrete slabs. “And they have assured us to execute the same expeditiously,” Udgata added.