To tackle trespassing cases and in light of the recent arrest of poachers involved in skinning a leopard caught in a snare at Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), the Forest Department has decided to step up foot patrolling inside the forest.

To bolster surveillance, 563 personnel from the Maharashtra State Security Corporation (MSSC) will join forest staff in patrolling to curb poaching and encroachment. A special one-week training programme for MSSC staff is scheduled for next week, where they will learn forest foot-patrolling techniques and how to locate snares used by poachers to trap wildlife.