Crocodile rescued in Kurukshetra

Vishal Joshi

Tribune News Service

Kurukshetra, August 11

A sub-adult crocodile (one that is too young to hold its own with older crocs) was rescued by villagers near Mukimpura village yesterday afternoon. 

 About 3 feet long, it was spotted in a pool of rainwater along the Kurukshetra-Pehowa road.

The villagers alerted the Wildlife Department officials, who transported the reptile to the Crocodile Breeding Centre at Bhor Saidan village, the only such facility in northern India. Though not a natural habitat of crocodiles, officials believe several more may be in the area.

District officials said seven crocodiles had been rescued from Mukimpura and Dabkoli villages in the last six years. In 2010, four crocodiles, including two adults (a male and a female), were found in the marshlands near Dabkheri while young reptiles were caught from adjoining areas.

It is believed that the crocodiles were brought by one of the mahants of Bhomeshwar Temple, located on the Kurukshetra-Pehowa road, in 1930. Later in 1980, the temple land was handed over to the state for a  crocodile breeding centre.

Wildlife inspector Rajiv Garg denied the rescued crocodile was from the well-guarded breeding centre.

“About 30 years ago, Kurukshetra, including Bhor Saidan breeding centre area, witnessed floods and a few crocodiles were swept away. The Saraswati drain near the centre is belived to have become a natural habitat of the displaced reptiles where their population has grown over the years,” he explained.

Alarmed, residents want the entire area be made free of crocodiles. DC Sumedha Kataria has written to the Wildlife Department about the matter.