Even as Rajasthan’s minister of environment, the flamboyant Bina Kak has expressed apprehension at the rising cases of human-animal conflict, environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan is determined to play down such incidents.
Ms Kak cites the example of four people being killed in Rajathan within a span of three weeks due to man-animal conflict with two of the victims having been mauled to death in Ranthambore National Park.
Ms Natarajan has, however, in a written reply informed the Lok Sabha on Monday that “incidents of human-animal conflict have been received in the ministry from time to time. However, there are no reports to suggest that the numbers of such conflicts are on the rise”.
But statistics provided by respective state governments to the environment ministry speak another tale.
Ms Kak herself cites the example of how in Dholpur a bear killed two men and injured several others this February.
“I am worried about this rising trend,” said Ms Kak who has ordered her officials to increase the height of the wall around Ranthambore park to stop the illegal entry of villagers who go there to collect firewood.
The story is the same from the other states. In Mumbai, two labourers living adajcent to the Tungareshwar wildlife sanctuary were killed and several injured in recent leopard attacks.
Across the country, 45 people have been killed by leopard attacks in the past three years.
Shrinking forests and depletion of prey are the main reasons behind these attacks. Demographic changes are also putting pressure on animals and changing their behaviour patterns.
Giving statistics, S.S. Sharma, the chief wild life warden of Uttarakhand, said, “250 humans and more than 900 animals have been killed because of these conflicts which include the loss of 193 elephants and 65 tigers.”