Gangtok: February 1, 2012

A 59-year man was severely attacked by a bear yesterday while collecting fodder at upper Pakyong, Lingee East Sikkim. Chandari Man Rai from upper Pakyong was attacked around 11:00 in the morning said the villagers. After the attacked Rai was immediately hurried to STNM hospital at Gangtok. Doctors said that Rai is out of danger.

As Rai is from a poor family the forest department has promised to bear all expenses of treatment said secretary to forest department, ST Lachungpa and wished for speedy recovery.

While talking with isikkim.com, Rai said that “it was in my nearby forest land that I was collecting fodder, all of a sudden a black bear sprang towards me from the bush and I was out of my mind. This is for the first time in the area that bear has attacked human beings but bears used to be seen in the village said Rai’s son.

It is worth mentioning that the concerned department till date has been failed to come out with strong mechanism to stop the bear menace in Sikkim. Almost in every district, from time and again bear has been in the news. It has not troubled the rural populace but the urban at the same time. Last year bear was witnessed at Tadong in Gangtok near forest secretariat. The census on bear till date has not been carried out and the exact population of the bears in Sikkim is not found. Earlier, Sikkim has decided to hold international seminar on National Bear Conservative Plan somewhere in the month of November. It is also learnt that that the proposed seminar has to get clearance from the board.

 

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