A 20 year old lady married a year ago killed by maneater outside her house

The tiger attack in Dabra Saural, also known as Ghori Dhaar in Salt block of Almora district, has left the entire region shaken and exposed once again the growing crisis of human-wildlife conflict in the hills of Uttarakhand.

The maneater leopard has killed a twentybyear old lady who had gone out of her house to dispose the cow dung. She was married just a year ago.

As soon as the lady came out with the dung for disposal the maneater looking for human flesh pounced in her and dragged her to the nearby jungle finnally killed her.

The forest and wild life department came too late and the villagers are extremely angered. The tragic incident took place on 3 rd August. The villagers say that had the officials arrived at the scene in time her life could have been saved.

What began as panic and anger among villagers has now pushed the administration into action.

After days of protests and repeated demands for safety, SDM Salt and the Forest Department, led by the Ranger officer, finally sat down with the locals and arrived at a 15-point consensus aimed at strengthening security in the area and providing immediate relief to the affected family.

The first priority, as agreed, is financial help. The victim’s family will get the first installment of the ex-gratia amount as per norms without delay, and the remaining amount will be released at the earliest.

The ex gratia of the government is Rs. Ten lakhs. Along with that, if anyone was injured in the attack, their treatment will be done free of cost in a good hospital and the entire expense will be borne by the Forest Department.

To deal with the animal itself, the department will immediately set up cages in Ghori Dhaar and surrounding areas and install trap cameras to trace the tiger’s movement.

If the animal continues to attack humans, the process to declare it a man-eater will be initiated as per rules, so that it can be tranquilized or eliminated on order.

Until then, the forest staff will carry out intensive day and night patrolling in the village and cut down dense bushes along footpaths and around habitations that have become hiding spots.

Because most attacks happen after dark, solar street lights will be put up immediately at vulnerable turns and dark stretches. For the long term, the victim’s eligible family member will be given priority for daily or outsourced work in the Forest Department. In case any livestock was killed, compensation will also be paid promptly.

The administration has promised a 24×7 helpline and the deployment of a Quick Response Team in the village so that people don’t have to wait in an emergency.

Special security patrols will be arranged during morning and evening hours when children go to and return from school.

The local primary health center will be equipped with anti-rabies injections, first aid and a functional ambulance. A joint Forest Protection Committee comprising villagers and forest staff will be formed for local monitoring, and encroachment and illegal cutting that disturbs the tiger’s natural habitat will be checked.

SDM Salt and the Ranger have also agreed to review the progress of all these points within the next 15 days to ensure that promises do not remain only on paper.

For the people of Dabra Saural, this consensus is not just about compensation, it is about the right to live without fear in their own village.

Coming soon