Team Herald
VALPOI: Blaming the Forest Department for the increase in cases of wild animals attacking domestic animals and humans, farmers from Sattari taluka on Sunday accused the department officials of failing in their duties and threatened to hit the roads if their problems remained unsolved.
The farmers from Sattari on Sunday at a press conference held the forest officials responsible for being irregular in their duties by not visiting the forest area daily.
They further claimed that the officials just sit in the Forest Rest House and organise parties during weekend at the rest house with their families and relatives.
The claimed that the attacks on cows and people by wild animals have increased in the taluka in the last few years.
“We had complained to the Valpoi Forest Department several times but the officials failed to take any action. On the contrary, the officials abuse us with filthy words,” the locals alleged.
“With the wild animals killing our cattle, we have suffered huge losses. The cost of each cow is between Rs 30,000 and Rs 40,000. We have complained to the Valpoi Forest Department officials but they are not taking any action and are also not providing us with any compensation on account of the death of our cattle”, complained Nandakumar Kopardekar, a farmer.
“If you check the forest daily wage register it shows 25 labourers working on daily wages. But in reality there are only five daily wage workers. The forest officials are submitting bills of 25 labourers working on daily wages to the government. Nobody is ready to take action,” alleged another famer Krishna Nene.
“The local MLAs are not interested in solving our problems as they feel that if they solve our problems then we will not vote for them in the next election. We won’t keep quiet, we will come on the roads against the Forest Department, warned another farmer Vitho Pavne.
