In a written reply to another question asked by Congress MLA from Kaprada, Jitu Chaudhari, the minister said that the Forest department had sought the permission of the Centre to control the population of leopards in 2019. “The request is under the consideration of the Centre,” the minister stated.
Of these, 82 leopards were not released back into the wild.
Stating that the Gujarat government has sought the Centre’s permission to control the population of leopards in the state, state Forest Minister Ganpat Vasava, on Thursday, told the Gujarat Assembly that 442 leopards that had entered revenue areas were caught in 2019. Of these, 82 leopards were not released back into the wild.
“In 2019, 442 leopards were caught, Of these, 82 had attacked humans or killed them and have not been released into the wild. About 358 were released by the Forest department.” Vasava said while replying to a question posed by Congress MLA from Talala, Bhagabhai Barad during the Question Hour. As per the 2016 census, there were 1,395 leopards, of which 177 were cubs. Of these, 354 leopards were found in Junagadh and an additional 111 leopards were in Gir Somnath district, the Forest minister added.
When an MLA pointed out that goats placed as baits for catching leopards are killed by dogs, the minister told the House, “The honourable member said that some kind of bait has to kept (in cages). In his area, it was only dogs that entered the cages, but in South Gujarat, a human had entered the place where the bait was kept.” The minister was referring to an incident reported by The Indian Express in December last year, where 70-year-old Pamani Chaudhary was found trapped in a cage kept for catching a leopard in Tapi district of South Gujarat.
In a written reply to another question asked by Congress MLA from Kaprada, Jitu Chaudhari, the minister said that the Forest department had sought the permission of the Centre to control the population of leopards in 2019. “The request is under the consideration of the Centre,” the minister stated.
The state government in another written reply stated that in the last two years till December 31, 2019, 45 cases of leopard attacks on humans have been reported in Junagadh district, while 50 such attacks took place in neighbouring Amreli district. “20 people were killed in these attacks and 97 persons were injured,” the minister said. Financial assistance was provided to the families of the deceased and the injured.
https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/ahmedabad/leopards-gujarat-forest-department-6290246/
https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/ahmedabad/leopards-gujarat-forest-department-6290246/
No comments:
Post a Comment