Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir government has
asked various wings of the forest department to ensure greater
coordination to stop the growing incidents of man-animal
conflict in the Kashmir Valley.
"All the wings of the forest department should coordinate
with each other to stop incidents of man-animal conflict,"
Minister of State for Forests Shabir Ahmad Khan said after
chairing a meeting of forest department officials yesterday.
There have been increased incidents of man-animal
conflict resulting in dozens of deaths over the last few
years.
The Himalayan black bear and leopards stroll into human
habitats in search of food, leading to frequent confrontations
between humans and wild animals.
Asking the officers to "act tough" against the people
involved in timber smuggling, Khan said, "Implement the
directions of the government for checking the smuggling in
letter and spirit and show result on the ground".
Meanwhile, the Forest department has earned Rs 18 crore
by distributing 8.13 lakh cubic feet timber to consumers in
Kashmir division during the current financial year, an
official spokesman said.
The department has also provided 1.25 lakh quintals of
fire wood to various mosques in the Valley during the winter,
besides providing 42,000 cft timber to the education
department for construction of school buildings, the spokesman
said.
An amount of Rs 1.90 crore is being utilised on soil
conservation and erosion works during the current fiscal, he
added.
PTI
