Of late, there has been a lot of hue and cry- led frantically by certain sections of the media for footage- over animal attacks on humans residing in the lap of forests! Whenever such a situation arises, the only course taken is killing or capturing the beasts! Human life presides over animal life! No thought is given to the reasons for their actions, nor humane measures are taken to allow them to exist in their very own territory that is mostly infringed upon by the rapidly rising human population. The forest department, which wants to act as a savior of the wildlife, is forced to act against its prodigies. Even then, it is badly criticized as if its foresters had a role in turning the wild beasts aggressive!
I am here not blindly favouring wildlife over human life but proving a point in an unjaundiced manner. Here is a very evident trigger which is for everyone to see, but being ignored. As soon as it is raised, loud aggressive noises against it silence it. The trigger is, rapidly shrinking forest cover and fringe area encroachment! A shortage of prey base is only adding fuel to the fire! We will have to face it: Human settlements will have to be relocated from areas of major man-animal conflicts! There is no other solution! Animal corridors that join one patch of forest with another will have to be reestablished (yes, they have been encroached upon by man as well). When fringe human settlements- majorly done to create a vote bank- are relocated to the mainstream, even their conditions would improve. They are mostly a poor lot that cry ‘bhediya aaya, sher aaya, cheetah aaya, haathi aaya’also for monetary compensation. This has been claimed not just by sources but by an international report as well. More constructions (road, pucca houses, etc.) will only complicate the situation further and the fringe dwellers will be emboldened to move their fields or settlements further into the forest lands! Or, is it because lust for too much foreign investment in UP is causing farming lands to go under the bulldozer with the farming lot given compensatory lands in fringe areas? In that case, we cannot blame the people but the government! A government has to care for every living being- be it man, animal, bird, or forest (whosoever resides in that geographical area). But the entire focus is on man. Why? Because he can cast a vote, go to court, and bully by using pressure tactics! Ever heard of animals going on a strike, or blocking a road to demand a reclaim of their territory?
The rate at which wild animals are being captured is shocking! What is becoming of them finally? We are told they are relocated, but where? The forests are shrinking. The territories are already marked. What chances of their survival are there in their new territory? If they are kept in zoos, is there space? No, there isn’t! The animals too have families (packs), and emotional bonds, they care for one another and need to stick together and live in their natural territory. We cannot deny them this right! It brings us back to the same conclusion: Stop this mad race for development on virgin lands and relocate the villagers forced to dwell on forest fringes! Act now and act fast or be ready to tackle more and novel conflicts in the near future!
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