Minister for Forests, Ecology and Environment Eshwar B. Khandre has warned that safari tours will be completely suspended unless the human-animal conflict situation in the state is eased.
In a meeting convened in Chamarajanagar attended by other ministers, officials and local stakeholders, the minister noted that officials expressed their inability to deploy additional staff in conflict-prone areas, signaling a manpower shortage. In such cases, personnel from safari zones should be deployed and reassigned to these conflict areas, he added.
Mr. Khandre called for better coordination between various departments to avoid conflict situations and directed officials to initiate plans to increase the availability of fodder in the natural habitats of wild animals. This will ensure that both herbivores and carnivores remain inside the forest, he said, adding that lantana and other invasive weeds should be removed.
Action plan
An eight-point action plan was also announced on the occasion. This includes identifying all areas affected by human-wildlife conflicts and enumerating the specific nature of the problems in each area, deploying human resources based on the severity of the conflict and redeploying personnel from nearby areas, intensifying patrolling and installing GPS devices on all patrol vehicles, increasing patrolling in villages bordering forests and maintaining patrol registers, among others. Senior officials were directed to visit villages frequently and interact with the local community.
Mr. Khandre also advocated local participation, saying that youth from peripheral villages should be identified and designated as forest “mitres” so that they can be involved in patrolling and other operations. 24×7 availability of rescue and relief vehicles, conducting simulated rescue drills and demonstrating how to respond to a wildlife attack, and setting up coordination committees to review and strengthen conflict control measures were other points of discussion.
Published – 02 Nov 2025 19:52 IST
