MONDAY, JULY 01, 2024
Team Herald
VASCO: Farmers from Velsao-Pale were shocked to find a crocodile in the village fields, on Thursday.
They were left in fear and panic due to the crocodile’s presence and made immediate calls to the Forest Department for help. The Forest officials reached on site and first discussed a plan to trap the crocodile.
Forest officer Julio Quadros sought to reassure the locals, explaining the likely behaviour of the reptile and to trap it when it returns to bask in the sun. But until then, the fear continued to loom large over Velsao.
The Pale Tolem Xetkaranchem Association president Roquezinho D’Souza said that crocodile was first spotted by two Velsao-Pale-Issorcim Panchayat members Jim D’Souza and Remedios Noronha, who immediately alerted the farmers.
Meanwhile, social activist and founder member of Goencho Ekvott Orville Dourado Rodrigues on Thursday expressed his dissatisfaction over the statements made by the Forest Department to the spotting of crocodile at Velsao.
Rodrigues said it was the bounden duty of the forest officials to ensure that the reptile was humanely snared and returned back to its original habitat, and in the process ensured its safety, while at the same time would help restore the confidence not only in the farmers, but also to people, who carry out fishing in the lake and the rivulets leading to the River Sal.
