Taking serious note of human-wildlife conflict that resulted in the loss of both human beings and wildlife, Minister for Forest, Ecology and Environment Eshwar Khandre has said that the officials of the Forest Department must take the issue seriously and work on avoiding such conflict.
“Due to human-wildlife conflict, 51 people lost their lives last year. This year, the number is 49. The forest officials must take toll seriously and come up with constructive ideas to save the lives of both human beings and wildlife,” Mr. Khandre said in his public address after inaugurating the State-level Forest Sports organised by the Forest Department at Chandrashekhar Patil Stadium in Kalaburagi on Thursday.
“The encroachment of forest land is considerable in the State. The Forest officials are duty-bound to protect the green cover by preventing people from encroaching upon forest land. We can survive only when there are forests and wildlife around us,” Mr. Khandre said.
Admiring the forest officials engaged in the conservation of forests and wildlife, Mr. Khandre said that he felt content for having inaugurated the State-level sports of forest personnel.
“Forest personnel are busy the entire year protecting the forests and wildlife. They are instrumental in conserving the forests and wildlife. Now, they have come together in a sports event. I am happy that I am part of this event. The sports event sends a clear message to the youth and encourages them to keep their physical health in good condition,” he said.
Pointing to the diminishing green cover in the Kalyana Karnataka region, Mr. Khandre said that the region has only 5% of forests as compared to the 22% in the State.
“Kalyana Karnataka region has only 5% of forest cover as compared to the 22% in the State. To expand the green cover in the region, we have planted around 5 crore saplings in the region,” he said.
In the first State-level sports event organised for the Forest Department officials, 1,234 personnel from Kalaburagi, Bengaluru, Mangaluru, Chikkamagaluru, Dharwad, Hassan, Kodagu, Mysuru and Shivamogga ranges have enrolled for 271 sport events.
Legislators M.Y. Patil and Shashil Namoshi and senior forest officials Brijesh Kumar Dikshit and A.B. Patil and others were present.
