Farmers of Ranebennur, Byadgi, Haveri, Hangal and part of Savanur taluks are once again hit by deer menace.

There have been reports of a group of 40-50 deer eating 10-day old kharif crop sprouts.

Farmers who have sown maize, soy, jower, cotton, cereals, groundnut among others in their fields, fear complete loss of crops due to black buck attack.

When asked, farmers said it has become very difficult to get rid of them because the deer always comes early morning or evening and when the farmers try to catch it the animal just leaps away.

Blackbuck Sanctuary, Ranebennur, Forest superintendent Pramod said his department has received 365 applications for solar fencing from Ranebennur and Byadgi farmers.

The government will provide 50 per cent subsidy to the farmers and rest will be borne by them, he told.

He said based on a survey by the Agriculture Department, the government has given `1 lakh compensation to 377 farmers who lost crop in 2013-14 due to the deer menace.

“Mere paying compensation to farmers is not a solution. To check black buck attacks, the government has to consult experts and adopt chain link mess in places where major losses have been reported,” he said.

Haveri district has a black buck sanctuary, which is spread over 11,900 hectare in Ranebennur and Byadgi taluk.

The Forest Department has taken all steps to provide food, cattle proof trenches and water tanks for the deer in the sanctuary.

Source - http://www.newindianexpress.com/