The Wayanad Action Committee to Prevent Wildlife Attack, a farmer organisation in the district, has urged the government and three-tier local bodies to adopt effective steps to mitigate the increasing man-animal conflict in the district.
Speaking to mediapersons here on Wednesday, T.C. Joseph, the chairman of the organisation, said year after year, the man-animal conflict in the district was escalating considerably. Though successive governments had been implementing various measures such as digging of trenches, erection of power fencing, rail fencing, Mankulam-model crash guard rope fencing and construction of rock walls on the fringes of forests in the district, the issue had not been tackled yet, he said.
The most effective measure taken was the setting up of crash guard rope fencing as it could prevent the entry of wild animals such as tiger, elephant, gaur and various species of deer to the adjacent properties of farmers to a certain extent, said Mr. Joseph. Moreover, the fencing was also cost effective.
The government had granted ₹615 crore to three-tier civic bodies in the 2018-19 fiscal for various development projects and it was expected that the amount would come to about ₹700 crore in the 2020-21 fiscal, he said.
Nearly 40% of the amount was used for agriculture and allied sectors. If the amount, except the funds for the dairy sector, was utilised for the construction of fencing in the district, the issue of man-animal conflict could be addressed to be a great extent, he said.
Mr. Joseph urged the government to execute effective minor irrigation projects to utilise the water resources in the district by coordinating with various departments and using the services of the MGNREGA workers.
Though the Cauvery tribunal had granted 9-tmcft water from the Kabani river and its tributaries, the successive governments had failed to utilise even 1.5 tmcft of water so far, he alleged.
