Lutfor Mollah
Lutfor Mollah lives with tigers. In the Sundarbans, when panic erupts as a tiger enters a village, it is Lutfor Mollah and his team who rush in with sticks, nets, and crude firecrackers to drive the animal back to the forest.
He saves humans from fear and tigers from retaliation. Yet for each call, Lutfor Mollah earns barely 1,000 rupees. At best, 4,000 to 5,000 a year. The men who risk their lives are invisible in government records, while tourism profits flow elsewhere. Families of victims often receive no compensation if deaths occur inside core zones. The forest department keeps committees. Villagers keep survival.
Our feature on Human–Tiger Conflict shows why coexistence depends not on bureaucrats but on frontline villagers like Lutfor. He is proof that courage lives where money and recognition do not.
Based on PARI, India.
Photo via Arnab Dutta / PARI.
