Friday 19 April 2013

PM urged to announce special package to address man-animal conflict

TNN | Apr 19, 2013
NAGPUR: Following unprecedented rise in man-animal conflict in which eight villagers were mauled by a problem leopard in 25 days, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has been urged to announce a special package to implement 'alternate livelihood programme' for minor forest produce (MFP) and livestock dependent families living in Tadoba landscape and wildlife corridors.

Satpuda Foundation, which is a member of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL), has demanded a special package from the Prime Minister, who is also the chairman of NBWL. In a letter to the PMO on Wednesday, the Satpuda Foundation chief Kishor Rithe said that there are at least 189 spots in TATR landscape where there is presence of big cats.

Explaining the problem, Rithe said that communities living in Tadoba's buffer villages and wildlife corridors mostly depend on MFP like bamboo, mahua flowers and tendu leaves for livelihood. Wild animals, who are not so familiar with humans, tend to attack villagers who enter the forest to collect these forest produce or to graze livestock.

From 2007 to 2013, around 83 human deaths and around 5,861 cattle kill cases have been recorded in Chandrapur district alone, as against 223 human and 21,775 cattle kills in the entire state.

The Satpuda Foundation has sought PMO's intervention to implement preventive steps rather than simply paying compensation.

"It is high time, that a special package to solve man-animal conflict is implemented under alternate livelihood programme for MFP," said Rithe. The Satpuda Foundation will also write to MLAs and MPs in Vidarbha to gather support to design and implement such package.

The copy of the letter has also been sent to Jayanthi Natarajan, Union environment and forest minister, and Montek Singh Ahluwalia, deputy chairman of Planning Commission.

Trail of death

* March 24: Anusaya Shende, Usrala Chak (Saoli)
* April 6: Dhrupada Madavi, Sadagad (Saoli)
* Leopard caged and released in Girghat (TATR)
* April 10: Tukaram Dharne and Malan Munghate ((Adegaon)
* April 10: (Wrong leopard caged)
* April 11: Lalita Pendam (Pathri)
* April 12: Nileema Kotrange (Chorgaon)
* April 17: Kirti Katkar (Payali)
* April 18: Gopika Kalsarpe (Kitali)

(Six deaths after release of problem leopard in TATR. On April 16 Laijabai Fukat was killed by a tiger in Ranbodi in Umred-Karhandla)

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/PM-urged-to-announce-special-package-to-address-man-animal-conflict/articleshow/19623792.cms

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