Trek to Mhadei wildlife goes awry

VALPOI: A trek by a member of a religious association and seven minor girls to the deep forest of the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary on Monday went horribly wrong, after they lost their way and went missing overnight, before they were lucky to have been rescued by a Karnataka forest team and local activists on Tuesday morning.
The team leader was reported to have been severely reprimanded by Karnataka forest officials for straying into the thick forest, which is infested by wild animals, without permission and endangering the lives of minor children.
According to reports, Melany M Pinto (32) of Miramar, a member of a religious association, took the seven girls, all between 11 and 13 years, hailing from Porvorim and Ribandar, for an unauthorised trek to the Madei Wildlife Sanctuary near Chorla Ghat on Monday morning.
The group then reportedly visited the Agvacho waterfall in the area and then decided to return home in the evening.
However, the trekkers missed their way and got lost in the dense forest. In the absence of mobile network connectivity, they were unable to alert family members and other for help.
When the children failed to return home and could not be contacted till late Monday evening, the families panicked and a missing complaint was filed at the Porvorim police station.
In the meanwhile, the trekkers were left with no choice but to spend the entire night in the forest.
Acting on the missing complaint, Goa police alerted the Goa Forest officials, the Madei Wildlife Sanctuary staff and the Karnataka forest staff.
A search operation was conducted on Tuesday morning and members of the Vivekanand Paryavaran Manch also volunteered their services.
Braving heavy rains and thick fog, the teams scoured the dense forest and finally managed to locate the eight missing trekkers.
Some of the trekkers, who were exhausted and in shock following the ordeal, were taken in a 108 ambulance to the Sakhali government hospital for a checkup, before they were handed over to their family members, who were very relieved to re-unite with them.
The Karnataka forest officials also took Pinto and some trekkers to Kankumbi for an enquiry, as they had trespassed into forest area.
Later speaking to The Goan, a Karnataka forest official said it was a reckless decision by Pinto to have endangered the lives of seven minor girls by entering into thick forested area.
"He put all their lives in serious danger as the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary is a habitat for wild animals such as tigers and bison. They should never had entered this area without information and prior permission from wildlife authorities. Such incidents will not be tolerated in future," said the official.

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