Agriculturists Lose Sleep Over Wild Animals In Patiala

The farmers in parts of Patiala district, including Rajpura, Samana and Nabha, are up in arms against the state government and the Wildlife Department for not helping them protect their crops from wild animals.

Not getting any assistance from the Wildlife Department, farmers have to keep vigil round the clock to save their crops.

The farmers seem to be stuck in a complex situation as on the one hand, they are not allowed to kill or trap wild animals as per the wildlife laws and on the other, getting compensation from the authorities is proving to be difficult.

Gurdeep Singh, a farmer near village Bapror, said that every day, they work long hours in the fields, from early morning to afternoon. But there is no solace at night, as they have to rush back to the fields again to keep wild animals at bay.

He complained that the procedure to get clearance from the Wildlife Department to shoot wild animals is very lengthy.

Farmers in forest belts complain that neelgai and wild boars damage a lot of their crop and cause them huge losses.

The problem is more serious in Rajpura where scores of animals can be seen in the fields even in the day.

Some farmers have illegally fitted electric wires near their farms to keep wild animals away.

Recently, hundreds of farmers from the nearby town of Nabha and Samana had held a dharna and complained about the menace of wild animals.

The state government had issued a notification and allowed the hunting of wild boar for domestic consumption in December 2009.

But, hunters alleged that Sub Divisional Magistrates and wildlife officials took a very long time to issue hunting permits.

Catch-22

Farmers are not allowed to kill or trap wild animals and the Wildlife Department doesn’t offer much assistance.

While on the other hand, if their crops are destroyed, getting compensation is a challenge