Wild boars, peacocks, and sometimes even bison are destroying paddy fields, say some farmers of Bordem, Yedda, and Kuskem in Cotigao. The farmers have demanded that the government compensate them for the losses as paddy is their main source of livelihood.

A former Cotigao sarpanch, Rajesh Gaonkar, said that the thriving paddy crops are almost in the harvesting stage and lie like soft targets for wild animals.

He said the farmers are devastated by the losses.

A former sarpanch of the Yedda ward, Umesh 'Daya' Gaonkar, said that the government's yearly budget has a 12% provision for developmental works for the ST community. He said agriculture and forest departments should use the funds to provide electric fences to the fields that need them. He said a survey will help identify such fields.

Farmers have sought relief from both agriculture and forest departments to tide over the crisis.

Ramdas Gaonkar, a farmer who has a field at Bordem, held the forest department responsible for the crop loss. He said the department often fails to care for wild animals in sanctuaries, forcing the animals to stray into fields to look for food.

Given the fact that most of these animals are protected species, the farmers are demanding that the government devise a mechanism to at least assess the damage caused to the crops and accordingly compensate them.

The farmers complain orally every year to the two departments but no action is taken, said Shanu B Gaonkar and Damodar Gaonkar. The losses incurred in successive seasons are substantial and even threaten the region's traditional way of life, Damodar Gaonkar added.

Cotigao sarpanch Anandu Desai said that the wildlife division should create a scheme to compensate farmers. He said as this region lies adjacent to a wildlife sanctuary, a balance between wildlife conservation, and the livelihood of the locals is of utmost importance.

Source - https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com