Raipur: Chief Minister Raman Singh Friday directed to develop three places as bird conservation zones on the outskirts of the capital here.
"The Chief Minister has issued instructions for declaring Gidwa, Parsada and Mandhar areas in Raipur district as Bird Conservation Zones, during a meeting of Chhattisgarh State Wild-Life Conservation Board at Mantralaya," a public relation official said.
"In order to safeguard the bio-diversity of nature, protection of wildlife is very essential. Fruit and flower- bearing trees should be grown in bird conservation areas to attract wide species of birds," the official quoted CM as saying in the meeting.
Singh also instructed officials to grow such trees in the upcoming new-capital Naya Raipur and surrounding areas that can attract birds to build nests in the vicinity.
Expressing concern over the recent cases of loss of life and property due to wild elephants in north Chhattisgarh, Singh ordered the officials to pay compensation to the families affected at the earliest.
He further asked that 'Radio Collars' should be attached to the wild elephants so that?the rural folks will know when the tuskers approach the area.
Meanwhile, he also ordered officials to make necessary arrangements for conducting census of the bears in the state.
The Conservation officials revealed that there are about 3,000 bears in the state, which is said to be the largest in the country, the official said.
The Chief Minister on the occasion appreciated the fact that the number of tigers had increased in Chhattisgarh.
MLAs - Mahesh Gaagada, Chintamani Maharaj, Chief Secretary Vivek Dhand, board members and other officials were present in the meeting.
