To reduce man-animal conflict, U'Khand to run pilot project in 5 villages

The Uttarakhand government will run a pilot project in five villages affected by human-animal conflict to find a solution to the problem, a senior official said.

State's Additional Chief Secretary Anandvardhan on Monday directed the Watershed Department to start working on the pilot project and said that along with government efforts, community participation, role of gram panchayats and cooperation of local people should also be taken.

He asked the department to work on micro-planning in areas and villages affected by human-animal conflict.

Under the project, Anandvardhan also asked to study the pattern of human-animal conflict in the rural areas surrounding the Rajaji-Corbett landscape and to document local attitudes, perceptions and socio-economic impacts of the conflict in the area.

In a meeting between the Watershed department along with scientists and consultants of Wildlife Institute of India, he also directed to develop an early warning system to alert people about animal attacks.