PERNEM: Even as farmers in Pernem have been hit by the unprecedented rains this year causing flooding and destruction of their crops, the highest losses they incur all year around are due to wild animals rampaging through their cultivated land.
For the past 8 to 10 years, farmers from the villages of lbrampur-Hankhane, Chandel and Hasapur have been plagued by the nocturnal visits of gaurs (wild bison) that destroy their crops, causing losses that run into thousands of rupees, and laying waste to their time and effort.
“Earlier, the bison used to move around alone, but now, we see them in herds most of the time, due to inadequate availability of fodder and water in the wild. They enter the fields and eat the tender leaves and shoots of crops such as banana, sugarcane and other vegetables, trampling entire stretches of farmland,” said a farmer, who has made numerous visits to forest authorities for help, but have not seen a substantial solution to his woes.
The forest department has installed electric fencing on the border of jungle, but the bison manage to cross the fencing, that is often non-functional. “In most places that the forest department takes up power fencing, it is not maintained properly, giving the wild animals a free run to enter the fields,” said the farmer. “The power fences stop working even if they are slightly damaged. Every time a bison jumps over the fence, their back legs kick the fence, that gets disconnected and does not serve its purpose,” he added.
When the instances of destruction escalate, the farmers sometimes resort to staying in tents overnight, to keep a watch over their fields, especially close to harvest season. “However, facing these herds becomes difficult, as they are wild and hungry, and are likely to attack us if they perceive a threat,” explained Ranjit Parab, a farmer from Alorna in Pernem. “I have been cultivating okra and brinjal for the last three years. I have taken a piece of land on rent. After harvest, the produce is directly supplied to the State Horticulture Corporation. This year, the bison destroyed my crop, and I’m left staring at losses of thousands,” Parab told Herald. In Ibrampur-Hankhane village, farmers bear the brunt of wild animals’ visits almost every day, where bison, leopards and even peacocks and pigeons extensively damage their paddy, chillies, sugarcane, banana and other crops.
“Agriculture activity in our village is on the verge of dying out. On one hand, we endure flooding that makes it difficult to salvage our crop, and on the other hand are the wild animals that raze all our cultivated fields. They have made it difficult for us to survive”, said Sudhir Dhavaskar from Ibrampur.
