Adivasi hunting festival turns into a flop show

Jamshedpur, May 8 (UNI) For the first time in the history of tribal annual hunting festival ''Sendra'' (Bishu Shikar), the lives of innocent animals were spared in the Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary here today.

Forest department sources said this year's hunting festival witnessed less number of tribals.

The sources said the tribals, equipped with their traditional weapons, came from Jharkhand, Orissa and West Bengal in the Dalma Hills to slaughter the endangered species.

But this year the tribals failed to kill the animals as the administration clamped prohibitory orders under section 144 CrPc in and around the sanctuary.

Adequate number of forces were also deployed at the check posts at Ghatshila, Salboni, Hata and Raghunathpur to prevent tribals to move to the Dalma forest, the sources said.

Senior forest officials were also camping on the top of the Dalma hills since yesterday.

Every year hundreds of tribals in the region rushed to Dalma forest with bows, arrows and other primitive weapons to kill animals as they consider the killings a traditional ritual to appease the Forest God.

But with the interference of the forest and environment departments in the past few years the killings were reduced considerably and this year the administration succeded to restrain the tribals to kill the animals in the name of rituals.

UNI BDG TJP RN 1911