A fully grown male sambar was killed by poachers in Donal village near Nangal. The poaching has once again highlighted the threat to wildlife in the forest areas of Ropar district and the inadequate infrastructure available with the wildlife authorities to check poaching.Farmer Roshan Lal spotted the carcass of the sambar lying in his fields and informed officials of the wildlife department. The officials subsequently took the remains into their custody and started an investigation.According to sources, the animal’s head had been severed and left in fields, while the remaining portion of the carcass was missing. The incident has raised concern among wildlife activists over the alleged increase in poaching in and around the Nangal forest belt.The latest incident comes amid a series of sambar deaths in the Nangal area in recent months.In another incident, a female sambar was allegedly killed after consuming a wheat cake stuffed with an explosive device in a forest area of Nangal. Another sambar, allegedly chased by poachers, crashed into the office of a petrol station in Nangal and died from injuries sustained in the incident. In a recent instance, CISF personnel deployed for security at the National Fertilizers Limited (NFL) complex had reportedly informed authorities about the movement of suspected poachers in the area.The shortage of manpower and infrastructure has emerged as a major concern. Sources said the wildlife department in Ropar has only one old vehicle for patrolling forest areas spread over nearly 80 km from Chamkaur Sahib to Nangal. The same vehicle is also used for rescuing injured wild animals across the district.Activist Prabhat Bhatti and Paramjit Singh Bhatti alleged that the manpower and infrastructure available with the Wildlife Department were grossly inadequate to check poaching. They alleged that the government had failed to take concrete measures to protect wildlife.Sources said wildlife department officials had also approached the government seeking another vehicle for patrolling and checking poaching in the district.The division of responsibility between the Wildlife and Territorial Forest Departments has repeatedly become an issue, with officials often pointing to jurisdictional limitations. Meanwhile, the shortage of staff and vehicles is hampering regular surveillance of vulnerable forest stretches.Ropar is among Punjab’s three districts, along with Gurdaspur and Hoshiarpur, with extensive forest areas in the Shivalik hills. These forests constitute an important habitat for Punjab’s wildlife, but increasing human interference and alleged poaching have raised concerns over the survival of wild animals in the region.With another sambar falling victim to poaching, activists fear that unless patrolling and enforcement are strengthened, the forest areas of Ropar could remain vulnerable to illegal hunting.