PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
Rajya Sabha member and Bharatiya Janata Party State president Mahendra Bhatt raised the issue of human-wildlife conflict in Uttarakhand while speaking in the Rajya Sabha on Friday. Speaking in the Upper House, Bhatt detailed the damage caused by the conflict since creation of Uttarakhand and demanded that more financial assistance be provided to the families affected by human-wildlife conflict.
Bhatt said, “The human-wildlife conflict incidents are rising consistently in Uttarakhand. The locals are losing their lives and many are sustaining injuries in such incidents. During the past 25 years since the creation of Uttarakhand, 1,264 persons died and 6,519 were injured in human-wildlife conflict. The maximum were affected by leopards with 546 deaths and 2,126 persons injured. Similarly, 230 died and 234 were injured in encounters with elephants, 106 died and 134 were injured in encounters with tigers, 71 died and 2,012 were injured in encounters with bears, 360 died and 1,056 were injured in encounters with snakes and 69 were killed and 44 injured in encounters with crocodiles,” Bhatt said.
He further said that in the current year so far, five persons have died in bear attacks and 19 have died in encounters with leopard/tiger. Citing the death caused in a leopard encounter in Pauri district on Thursday, he also spoke about the deaths caused in human-wildlife conflict in Chamoli, Uttarkashi, Tehri, Rudraprayag districts and other places in the State.
Bhatt requested the Centre to prepare a special work plan considering the seriousness of the problem, especially considering Uttarakhand and other Himalayan States. The human-wildlife conflict is assuming alarming proportions in mountainous regions due to the higher forest cover and the dependence of the people on forests, he said. Bhatt requested that a policy should be drafted soon to ensure the maximum compensation for deaths in the conflict from the Centre and State. The treatment of the injured should also be done through the government to ensure completed assistance to the affected families, he added.
