Raipur: The Udanti–Sitanadi Tiger Reserve (USTR) has shifted from routine forest patrolling to an intelligence-led enforcement system to strengthen protection across its remote Chhattisgarh–Odisha border landscape.
Despite operating in Left-Wing Extremism (LWE)-affected areas with limited road access and poor mobile connectivity, field teams have intensified action against illegal encroachment, organised poaching, narcotics trafficking, illicit arms, timber smuggling, and illegal riverbed sand mining.
The strategy integrates ground intelligence, digital evidence, satellite imagery, drone mapping, specialised anti-poaching units, and cross-border police coordination to improve enforcement.
Key Operations and Achievements
- Anti-encroachment drive: Field teams cleared 956 hectares of forest land using satellite imagery, NRSC and ISRO data, GPS surveys, and drone mapping. Historical satellite images were used to objectively establish land occupation timelines.
- Anti-poaching operations: USTR dismantled organised wildlife crime networks, leading to the arrest of more than 400 offenders across Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Maharashtra. Authorities seized animal skins, claws, bones, firearms, and snares, disrupting interstate trafficking routes.
- Narcotics interceptions: Strategic forest checkposts helped intercept 129 kg of cannabis (ganja), which was handed over to the police under the NDPS Act, 1985.
- Illicit arms and explosives: Enforcement teams seized country-made firearms (desi bharmaar) and 50 potash bombs used for hunting. An investigation into the injury of an elephant calf resulted in the arrest of seven accused under the Explosive Substances Act, 1908.
- Timber smuggling and illegal sand mining: Officials cracked down on timber smuggling syndicates along the Odisha border, recovering illegally harvested logs concealed in water bodies and residential premises. Operations were also carried out against illegal riverbed sand mining to protect aquatic ecosystems.
