AHMEDABAD:
The death of one more lion in Visnagar has once again raised concerns
over open wells outside the Gir sanctuary. Forest department officials
said they have already forwarded a proposal to increase the subsidy
given for covering wells from Rs 8,000 to Rs 15,000. However, the state
government is yet to give its final nod to the proposal, pending which
no new project to cover wells has been taken up by the department. There
are over 10,000 open wells in the periphery of the sanctuary. Officials
said that on an average, the department receives around 110 lion and
other wildlife rescue calls every year. Of these, around five per cent
calls are about lions falling in wells. Earlier, the percentage of such
cases hovered around 15 to 20 of the total rescue.
According to
officials, there were more than 25,000 big and small open wells in
2008. The government then came out with a policy of giving Rs 8,000 to
farmers for covering and constructing parapets around their wells.
Around 24,000 wells have been covered under the project over the last
five years while 1,500-odd big wells remain open. However, with lions
venturing out up to Bhavnagar, the number of open wells has now reached
almost 10,000.
Officials said that due to lack of funds the
department has not been able to cover the big wells, which are turning
into killer wells. They said that now it is not possible to cover the
wells for Rs 8,000, so they recommended a hike in subsidy.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Subsidy-hike-to-cover-wells-around-Gir-not-yet-cleared/articleshow/48417845.cms
No comments:
Post a Comment