Manipal: Farmers demand protection of crops from wild animals

Manipal: Farmers demand protection of crops from wild animals

Mangalore Today News Network

Manipal, May 16, 2012: The Bharathiya Kisan Sangha and the farmers of Udupi organized a protest in front of the DC’s office in Manipal on May 16,  Wednesday, at 10:30 a.m. against the government’s failure to stop wild animals from destroying their crops.

Elendhooru Ranganath, president of the state unit of the Bharathiya Kisan Sangha; B. K. Ramesh, state general secretary; B. V. Poojary Perdoor, president of the Udupi unit of the Bharathiya Kisan Sangha; and Sathyanarayana Udupa, district general secretary, took part in this protest.

 

 

Katpady Shankar Poojary, president of the Udupi ZP; Gopal Bhandary, the MLA of Karkala; and M. A. Gafoor, the Congress leader, also addressed the gathering.

B. V. Poojary Perdoor, president of the district unit of the Bharathiya Kisan Sangha (Udupi), said that the district administration must protect farmers and their crops from wild animals.

The state unit of the Bharathiya Kissan Sangha also demanded market support for agricultural products. Urging the government to stop destruction of crops by wild animals, they demanded relief at the earliest possible.

Speaking on the issue, Mr. Poojary said that farmers have been facing this problem from the past 3 years, but so far, the government has not taken any corrective measure. Farmers are losing nearly twenty to ninety percent of their crops to wild animals such as deer, peacocks, wild boar, bison, and monkeys, he said.

The Bharathiya Kissan Sangha suggested that the government must catch the monkeys and take them to wildlife sanctuaries or sterilize the monkeys to reduce their population. It also suggested digging of trenches around Bandipur Wildlife Sanctuary to prevent wild creatures from leaving their territory. Besides, it demanded that the government must provide firearm permits to the farmers so that they can protect their crops from wild animals.