Man-Animal Conflict Occurs Due to Reduction in Forest Area: CM Yogi

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday said here that man-animal conflict occurs due to reduction in forest area.

Adityanath was addressing a function in the Lok Bhavan here where he distributed appointment letters to 647 forest guards/wildlife guards and 41 junior engineers selected through the UP Subordinate Services Selection Commission.

"If the forests burn, the environment will be damaged and landslides will occur. Not only wildlife, but humans will also have to face the ill-effects of untimely climate change. Human-wildlife conflict occurs due to reduction in forest area," Adityanath said.

Adityanath's statement assumes significance as it comes on a day when the fifth wolf was captured as part of the 'Operation Bhediya' campaign that has been ongoing in Bahraich's Mahasi tehsil to catch a pack of six wolves that have killed eight people and injured more than 20 since mid-July.

"The loss of life is happening due to wildlife and human conflict. This loss of life is a loss to family and the society. Due to this, many families become orphan. When there is waterlogging, encroachment in the command area of wildlife, it will migrate to another area.

"Due to this, human settlements will be seen coming under threat, therefore forest-wildlife protectors will have to train themselves as well as local people," Adityanath said. The UP chief minister also said the Terai districts, where these incidents have happened, are the areas where forests and agricultural lands are adjacent to each other. "If there is water in the forest, the animals come towards farms. If a person suddenly goes to the farm, the wild animals become violent. Electric and solar fencing should be done in the border areas," he said.

Bahraich Wolf Attack

Claiming that Uttar Pradesh is the first state to include human-wildlife conflict in the 'disaster' category, the UP chief minister said, "Uttar Pradesh is the first state to include human-wildlife conflict in the 'disaster' category and make a provision of Rs 5 lakh (compensation) for the loss of life." Apparently hitting out at the Samajwadi Party (SP) without taking its name, Adityanath said, "Those who have never done good, will definitely feel bad if (something) good happens. They are getting exposed, so they resort to false propaganda. They should be asked what they were doing when their government was in power. Why was the recruitment process not being done in a transparent manner? Why the judiciary had to repeatedly halt recruitment processes?" "Before 2017, honest recruitment was not possible. Questions were being raised on all the commissions and boards of that time. Their work and selection were under suspicion. Even today investigations by the CBI are going on," he said.

"Before 2017, when a youth used to go out of UP and someone asked him where he came from, he would not get hotels, dharamshalas and rooms on rent if he told that he was from UP. The people who created the identity crisis are the same people who made the leaders of the paper leak gang their disciples," Adityanath said.

On this occasion, Minister of State (Independent Charge) Dr Arun Kumar Saxena, Minister of State KP Malik, Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh, Additional Chief Secretary Forest, Environment & Climate Change Manoj Singh, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Head of Department Sudhir Kumar Sharma were present, the statement said. 

With PTI Inputs