756 villages continue to be inside Odisha’s wildlife sanctuaries

BHUBANESWAR: A whopping 756 villages and human habitations are located inside the protected areas of the wildlife sanctuaries in the state, a recent report of the wildlife wing of the Forest department has revealed.

The report stated that There are 19 wildlife sanctuaries in Odisha and as many as 14 continue to have human settlements inside them.

Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary has the highest 358 villages followed by 125 in Satkosia and 65 in Kotagarh. The state’s biggest tiger reserve Similipal also has 56 human settlements in its jurisdiction, while Baisipalli in Nayagarh has 62 villages. Sunabeda Wildlife Sanctuary,a proposed tiger reserve, also has 26 villages, while Badrama has 27 and Karlapat 19.