Days after reducing the number of safaris in Bandipur and Nagarhole tiger reserves, due to increasing human-animal conflict, Karnataka Forest Minister Ishwar Khander on Sunday warned that safaris will be completely suspended if the conflict is not brought under control.
Speaking at a coordination meeting of forest, revenue and police officials at Chamarajanagar zilla panchayat hall, the minister said shortage of staff cannot be an excuse for increasing human-animal conflict in areas where reserve forests are located. “If there are not enough staff to manage conflict-prone areas, deployed staff should be reassigned to safari duties,” he said.
Highlighting the increase in numbers of elephants and tigers in the state, the minister said that expanding forest areas was not possible. Instead, adequate food sources should be ensured for wildlife within existing habitats, he added.
Regarding the recent tiger mauling incident in which a man was killed in Sarajur, Mysuru district, Khandre criticized the decision to send the body to Mysuru for autopsy instead of conducting it locally. He urged officials to act sensitively and efficiently to ensure that families receive the body of the deceased without unnecessary delay.
“No one should lose their life due to human-wildlife conflict. If such a tragedy occurs, the district administration, police, forest and health should act responsibly and remain present until the funeral to maintain order,” he added.
An action plan was announced at the coordination meeting to address the increasing incidents of human-animal conflict. This included identifying conflict-prone areas and documenting the nature of problems, deploying staff based on the intensity of the conflict by withdrawing personnel from close ranges if necessary and increasing patrols, equipping vehicles with GPS, and maintaining records of patrols in border villages.
Regular visits by officials to conflict-affected villages, engaging local communities by appointing youth and elders as ‘friends of the forest’ to assist in wildlife patrolling and operations, ensuring 24×7 availability of vehicles and staff in villages near wildlife corridors, conducting awareness programs and mock training for villagers, youth and children on how to respond to wildlife encounters and setting up district and taluk level coordination committees to ensure inter-departmental cooperation, with regular meetings to monitor progress, are part of the action plan.
(Tags for translation) Bandipur Tiger Reserve
