Mysuru: Following incidents of illegal fishing and attacks on forest staff, the Forest Department has stepped up its vigil by setting up Anti-Poaching Camps (APC) to provide 24×7 protection at Ranganathittu and other places, which are rich in flora and fauna.

DCF (Wildlife) V. Yedukondalu, speaking to Star of Mysore this morning, said that APCs have been set up in Ranganathittu Birds Sanctuary, Gendahalli Island in Ranganathittu and Devaraya Island near Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) with five Forest Department personnel including an armed personnel with a Double Barrel Gun deployed in each APC.

Stating that armed personnel were deployed since March 2017, the DCF said that CCTV cameras were also installed at vantage points in Ranganathittu to monitor the movements of tourists and also to keep a watch on the sanctuary.

He said that following the busting of a well-operated illegal fishing racket in and around Ranganathittu  which was supplying the catches to Bengaluru and other places on Dec. 13, 2017 during which a Forest staff was stabbed by the gang, the Forest Department decided to keep vigil in order to protect the birds, prevent illegal fishing and also to protect the staff.

The DCF said that several other security measures such as providing names of trouble makers to the local Police Station, deployment of security guards and system of night patrolling are already in place in the sanctuary to prevent poaching and other illegal activities.

Ranganathittu along River Cauvery near Srirangapatna, comprising six mini-islets, is considered as an ideal place for breeding varieties of birds and marsh crocodiles. About 60,000 birds from across the world descend at the sanctuary every year.